^HIHIS 



I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



916 ' l * 

m ; 

§UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



\\ 




FiU. 



-O 



Fi <5 .4. 



TiS.2. 



/ 



\\ \ 



E 




m.b. 



Fie. 6. 





^3 



k 



AS TRQ3T0MIC AL ILLUS TR ATION S . 



RELIGIOUS TRUTH, 

n 



ILLUSTRATED FROM SCIENCE, 



ADDRESSES A££D SERMONS 



ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS. 



BY 

EDWARD HITCHCOCK, D.D..LL.D., 

LATE PRESIDENT OP AMHERST COLLEGE, AND NOW PROFESSOR OP NATURAL 
THEOLOGY AND GEOLOGY. 




BOSTON: 

PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY. 

1857. 



33 L** 

,H7 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by 

PHILLIPS, SAMPSON AND COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



STEREOTYPED AT THE 
BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. 



PREFACE. 



The quarryman, who has made excavations in the 
rocks for architectural materials, sometimes looks over 
the fragments which have been thrown aside, and finds 
blocks that seem to him worth preserving. Thus have 
I been doing with the literary debris, which has been 
quarried and wrought on special occasions, and after- 
wards thrown aside. With some new dressing, I have 
ventured to hope that a part of them are worth pre- 
serving, and this volume is the result. A brief history 
of the several articles is Subjoined. 

The first article, entitled The highest Use of Learn- 
ing, was my Inaugural Address when assuming the 
presidency of Amherst College, April, 1845. 

The second, on The Relations and Mutual Duties 
betiveen the Philosopher and the Theologian, was de- 
livered as an Anniversary Address before the Porter 
Ehetorical Society, at the Andover Theological Semi- 



4 PREFACE. 

nary, in 1852. It was subsequently published in the 
Bibliotheca Sacra, from which it has been copied, by 
permission. 

The third, on Special Divine Interpositions in Nature, 
was given before the Theological Seminaries of Bangor 
and Newton, in 1853. This, also, was published in the 
Bibliotheca Sacra for 1854. 

The Wonders of Science compared with the Wonders 
of Romance, is a Lecture which has been delivered 
before literary associations in the cities of New York, 
Brooklyn, New London, Norwich, Lowell, Charlestown, 
Salem, Newburyport, and Springfield ; also at Amherst 
College, and in some other places. It has never before 
been published. 

The Religious Bearings of Man's Creation was 
preached as a Sermon before the Convention of Con- 
gregational Ministers, in Brattle Street Church, Boston, 
May, 1854. It was also delitered as an Address before 
the Theological Society of Dartmouth College, in 
August, 1854. It has likewise been preached in Am- 
herst College, in Springfield and Conway, Massachu- 
setts, Brooklyn and Buffalo, New York, and Milwaukie, 
Wisconsin. In August, 1856, it was preached in Rev. 
Dr. Sprague's Church, in Albany, on Lord's Day 
morning, at the time of the meeting of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science. By the 



PREFACE. 5 

local committee of that association it has been pub- 
lished in connection with a Sermon by President Hop- 
kins, of Williams College, delivered in the afternoon 
of the same day. * 

The Sermon entitled The Catalytic Power of the 
Gospel was preached before the Massachusetts Home 
Missionary Society, at its anniversary in Boston, in 
May, 1852. It was published by the Society in pam- 
phlet form. 

The Attractions of Heaven and Earth has been 
preached as a Sermon in Amherst College, in Amherst, 
West, East, and North Parishes ; in Hatfield, Whately, 
Enfield, South Deerfield, Conway, and Richmond, 
Massachusetts. Its chief peculiarity is the employment 
of diagrams. It has never before been published. 

The Sermon entitled Miner alogical Illustrations of 
Character, has been preached only in Amherst College, 
at an evening lecture. Its chief peculiarity is the 
employment of a few mineral specimens for illustra- 
tion. This is the first time it appears in print. 

The Inseparable Trio was an Election Sermon, 

preached January 2, 1850, in Old South Church, 

Boston, before His Excellency George N. Briggs, His 

Honor John Eeed, the Honorable Council, and the 

Senate and House of Representatives of Massachusetts, 

by whom it was published in the pamphlet form. It is 
1* 



b PREFACE. 

added to this volume from a growing conviction of the 
importance of the leading principle advanced in it. 

A Chapter in the Book of Providence was delivered 
as an Anniversary Address before the Mount Holyoke 
Female Seminary, at South Hadley, in 1849, and pub- 
lished in a pamphlet form. I give it a place in this 
volume chiefly to exhibit the outlines of the character 
of one of the most energetic and benevolent females 
of modern times. 

The Waste of Mind is also an Address at the anni- 
versary of the same institution, in 1842. It was pub- 
lished by the trustees in a pamphlet form. 

Excepting the two or three last of the preceding 
articles, it will be seen that scientific facts and prin- 
ciples are employed to prove or illustrate religious 
truths. This fact embraces so large a part of the 
volume, that I have felt justified in placing it upon 
the title page. 

I might have added many more articles of analogous 
character, but fear that I have already presumed 
too much upon the interest of the public in such 
productions. 

Amherst College, November 20, 1856. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

THE HIGHEST USE 0£ LEARNING, 9 

THE RELATIONS AND MUTUAL DUTIES BETWEEN THE 
PHILOSOPHER AND THE THEOLOGIAN, .... 54 

SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE, . . 98 

THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED WITH THE 
WONDERS OF ROMANCE, 132 

THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION, . . 1S2 

THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL, .... 223 

THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, . . .255 

MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER, . . 28-5 

THE INSEPARABLE TRIO, 303 

A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE, . . .335 

THE WASTE OF MIND, 376 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 



The cause of education, in this country at least, is almost 
universally popular. Yet were we to pass around the inquiry 
among the different classes of society, why they regard it so 
important, we should probably receive very different answers. 
One man, himself uneducated, places its chief value in the 
means it affords of defence against the impositions of the de- 
signing and unprincipled. Another values it chiefly because 
it enables him to take advantage of the ignorance of the world 
in promoting his schemes of self-aggrandizement. A third 
looks upon the means which education affords for acquiring 
property, as its highest use. A fourth regards the personal 
reputation, respect, and influence, which learning bestows, as 
its chief advantage. A fifth thinks of it mainly as an instru- 
ment of advancing civilization, and multiplying the comforts 
and luxuries of life. A sixth estimates most highly its. influ- 
ence in elevating the lower classes of the community above 
the condition of mere animals and drudges, and in making 
them understand that the body is not the only part of man to 
be cared for. A seventh places the highest use of learning 
in its power of disciplining and liberalizing the mind, and 
delivering it from vulgar fears, superstitions, and prejudices ; 
and in giving to men just views of their rights, relations, and 
destinies. An eighth thinks most of the boundless fields of 

(9) 



10 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

enjoyment which knowledge opens to the human mind, of a 
far more noble and refined kind than any dependent upon 
animal nature. A ninth makes its most important use to con- 
sist in its bearings upon religion, both natural and revealed. 

Now, in my opinion, this ninth man has the right of the 
matter most decidedly ; and yet I fear that his opinion is not 
the most common, or the most popular. But to my convic- 
tion, the religious applications of learning are by far its most 
important use ; and the occasion seems to be a fit one to de- 
fend and illustrate this opinion. It needs, I believe, both 
defence and illustration. For though the belief is general 
that religion may derive some benefit from particular branches 
of learning, there is still an impression lingering on many 
minds, that some sciences are unfriendly in their bearings 
upon religion, and that others have no relations to religion. 
Much less is it generally believed that the strongest reason 
why we should sustain common schools, academies, and col- 
leges, is, that we are thus promoting the cause of true reli- 
gion. But if this be indeed true, then, when we give our 
property, our influence, or ourselves, to the cause of learning, 
we shall do it with a heartier good will and a more entire con- 
secration ; and we shall the more cheerfully bear up under 
the trials, fatigues, disappointments, and perplexities that lie 
in our path. 

I would not, indeed, undervalue the secular advantages of 
learning. They are so obvious and so important, that I could 
not do it if I would. Those whose experience reaches back 
fifty, or forty, or even thirty years, have evidence in their 
own consciousness of the economical value of learning, too 
strong to be overcome by any speculative argument depreci- 
ating its importance. When we compare the present condition 
of the world, and our own condition, with what they were in 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 11 

our early days, we cannot but be deeply impressed with 
the rapid progress of society, and the multiplication of secu- 
lar advantages, and the means of comfort and happiness, 
growing out of the advancement of learning. Branches of 
science and literature, which, at the beginning of this centu- 
ry, were tabooed to all who were • not residents within the 
walls of universities and colleges, and even some branches 
that scarcely had an existence then, are now the theme of 
familiar conversation in the workshop, on the farm, in the 
stage coach, the rail car, the steamboat, and the packet. And 
so simplified are the elementary principles of many of these 
branches, as to be brought within the comprehension of the 
child at the primary school. Instead of the stinted sources 
of information then possessed in a few small newspapers and 
periodicals in some of the larger cities, and a few republica- 
tions of small European works, the country is now flooded 
with newspapers of all sizes below one that will swallow up 
an octavo, and with periodicals and books to suit all tastes, all 
purses, and all fancies, from the penny pamphlet up to the 
seven hundred dollar volumes of Audubon. 

Still more striking has been the progress of the useful arts 
from the application of scientific principles. In Great Brit- 
ain, at this moment, steam performs a work that would re- 
quire the unaided labor of more than four hundred millions of 
men ; and a work as great probably, in proportion to the pop- 
ulation, in our own country. Improvements in machinery 
and in chemical processes have doubtless within this century 
made a still greater deduction from the amount of labor ne- 
cessary ; and these improvements reach every class of the 
community ; pointing out to them an easier path to compe- 
tence, and affording them leisure to cultivate their intellectual 
and moral powers. Then, too, how striking the change in 



12 THE HIGHEST ttSE OF LEARNING. 

respect to intercommunication, both on land and water ! We 
now hardly give a serious parting to our friend who starts 
upon a trip of only some five hundred or a thousand miles, 
so soon shall we see him again. And even when we have 
bid him adieu, as he starts on foreign travel, we hardly begin 
to reckon his absence by months, certainly not as formerly 
by years, ere he greets us again ; having made the tour of 
Europe, or perhaps stood within the Holy City, or coasted the 
shores of the Black Sea and the Caspian, or gone down the 
Red Sea to India and the Celestial Empire, and returning by 
the Isthmus of Panama, he has completed the circuit of the 
globe. And besides the problem has just been solved, of car- 
rying on a conversation and transacting business with our 
friend when absent, even though hundreds, and it may be 
thousands, of miles intervene between us. 

Now, these are advantages derived from the progress of 
learning so obvious as to be known and read of all men ; and, 
therefore, we are apt to suppose them the chief advantages. 
Whereas the applications of literary and scientific truths to 
religion lie more out of sight, and can be appreciated fully 
only by him who is well acquainted both with learning and 
religion, and who looks at their relations with the eye of a 
philosopher. We must dwell a little, therefore, upon these 
relations in order to sustain the position that has been taken. 

I need not argue before such an audience as this the supe- 
rior importance of religious principles to all others. This will 
be admitted ; for all other truths have reference to time, these 
to eternity : all others regard man's mortal, these his immor- 
tal interests : all others are limited by created natures ; these 
centre in the uncreated God. Religious principles, therefore, 
are in their very nature of infinite moment. Other truths 
have gradations of value ; but these are invaluable, because 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 13 

necessarily immortal and infinite. Every thing, therefore, in 
literature or science, that discovers, illustrates, or confirms 
the eternal principles of religion, swells into an importance 
proportionally great. It remains, then, only to show that the 
wide fields of learning afford us such illustrations over their 
entire surface, and the position will be made out, that the re- 
ligious applications of literature and science are the most 
important of all their relations ; and that, consequently, when 
we consecrate our property, our influence, or our lives, to the 
cause of education, we consecrate them to one of the noblest 
of all human enterprises. 

Accompany me now, my friends, as we rapidly pass around 
the circle of literature and science, in order that we may see 
what are the relations between religion and the different 
branches of human learning. 

We meet, first, with the ancient classics, whose study forms 
so important a part of a liberal education in modern times. 
The religious principles which they contain are, indeed, fa- 
tally false ; and not much more consonant with modern views 
is their philosophy. Nevertheless, they afford most important 
aid in elucidating revelation. The very absurdity of the my- 
thology and philosophy of the classics brings out, by contrast, 
in bolder relief the beauties and glories of Christian doctrines 
and Christian philosophy ; and instead of leading the student 
to embrace polytheism, they prepare his mind for the recep- 
tion of the gospel. Besides, many passages of Scripture 
would be unintelligible, and others unimpressive, without that 
knowledge of ancient opinions and manners which the clas- 
sics disclose. And then, too, how unfit to give a correct 
interpretation of Scripture is he who is unacquainted with 
the languages in which it was originally written ! It does not 
prove this position false to state, what is certainly true, that 
2 



14 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

many men have faithfully preached the gospel, and been in- 
strumental of the conversion of great numbers, who were 
ignorant of classical literature. So there have been surgeons 
and physicians unacquainted with anatomy, physiology, and 
chemistry ; and" they may have performed many skilful op- 
erations and effected many cures, and thus done much good. 
But other things being equal, no one would feel as safe in the 
hands of such practitioners as in those familiar with the struc- 
ture of the human system, and with the laws that govern it, 
and with the chemical nature and action of medicines. In 
difficult cases such practitioners would shrink from prescrip- 
tions and operations ; or if they rashly attempted them, would 
be very likely to tie the omo-hyoid muscle instead of the ca- 
rotid artery ; or to administer nitric acid in connection with 
mercury ; or by some analogous blunder, to put the patient's 
life in jeopardy. And mistakes alike dangerous, sometimes 
infinitely more so, because they involve the loss of the soul, 
must he be liable to make, who engages in the ministerial 
office ignorant of the original languages in which the Scrip- 
tures were written. And if one such fatal mistake should 
result from his ignorance, what a terrible drawback would it 
be upon a whole life of devoted usefulness ! 

In modern times human learning has become so prodigious- 
ly expanded, and so many new branches have been estab- 
lished, that it is difficult to discourse intelligibly concerning it 
without defining the terms which we employ. In France and 
Germany, the word literature embraces the whole circle of 
written knowledge ; and with many English writers it has the 
same wide signification. But often the meaning is restricted 
to those branches which treat of the social, moral, and intel- 
lectual relations of man. Polite literature, or belles-lettres, 
is still more limited in its meaning ; embracing poetry, ora- 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 15 

tory, and perhaps history, biography, and some other miscel- 
laneous subjects. The term science is applied to those 
branches whose principles are considered as well settled ; 
and with the exception of some parts of mathematics, the 
term is chiefly confined to the material world ; although mor- 
al science, and intellectual science, are phrases frequently 
used. 

Adopting these definitions, we might arrange all human 
knowledge under the three heads of Literature, Science, and 
Art. Let us first inquire into the influence of modern litera- 
ture upon religion. 

And here it must be acknowledged in the outset, that not a 
little of the influence of modern polite literature* has been 
very disastrous to religion. For much of it has been pre- 
pared by men who were intemperate, or licentious, and se- 
cretly or openly hostile to Christianity ; at least to its peculiar 
doctrines. And their writings have been deeply imbued with 
immorality, or infidelity, or atheism. Yet the poison has been 
often so interwoven with those fascinations of style, or thought, 
characteristic of genius, as to be unnoticed by the youthful 
mind, delighted with smartness and brilliancy. And even 
when the plague spots have been pointed out, it has tended, 
like the prohibition of the fruit of the tree of knowledge in 
Eden, to excite an irresistible desire to open the proscribed 
volumes, even though they should prove a second box of Pan- 
dora. 

Perhaps no branch of literature has been oftener and more 
successfully employed as a vehicle for the propagation of in- 
fidel opinions than history. Rightly understood, and faithfully 
interpreted, it gives strong light and confirmation to revelation 
and to morality. But sceptical ingenuity has often been able 
to make its voice as ambiguous as a Delphic oracle, and as 



16 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

fallacious as ventriloquism. In pagan Greece and Rome, 
their historians, except perhaps Tacitus, were even over cred- 
ulous on the subject of polytheistic religion. And so in mod- 
ern times, previous to the last century, the historian was 
usually the supporter of revealed truth. But the talented yet 
anomalous Bayle, in that manual of irreligion, his Critical 
Dictionary, led the way in converting facts into an engine 
against Christianity. Voltaire and others learned the lesson, 
which was perfected by Gibbon and Hume. So often, how- 
ever, have their sophistries and cavils been exposed, that it is 
only the unwary who are now entrapped. The great mass 
of historical literature also, your Rollin and Ramsay, Miiller, 
Schlegel, Heeren, Goldsmith, Smollet, Russell, Turner, Rob- 
ertson, and a multitude of others, are favorable to religion ; 
although a Von Rotteck, in the costume of a baptized infidel, 
rejects biblical history as fabulous. Religion, therefore, need 
have no fears from her alliance with History ; and, indeed, 
she may hope for many a rich harvest of illustration and con- 
firmation from future researches ; for there are other papyri 
to be unrolled, other hieroglyphics to be deciphered, and other 
Sir William Joneses and Champollions to be raised up. 

Another most sacrilegious perversion of polite literature 
consists in clothing immorality and irreligion in the vestal robe 
of poetry. I say sacrilegious ; for poetry is the natural hand- 
maid of pure religion. Hence it was chosen by the Holy 
Ghost as the appropriate language of prophets and other in- 
spired men. But it is the appropriate language of all strong 
emotions, and may, therefore, be employed for giving an 
attractive dress to immoral and irreligious sentiments, as well 
as to those which are virtuous and holy. Accordingly, so 
wide has been this misapplication of the poetic talent, that in 
almost every age its highest efforts have been consecrated to 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 17 

polytheism, or war, or amorous intrigues, or intemperance, or 
to secure favor from the great, by flattering their vanity. In- 
deed, though the Old Testament is full of poetry, and though it 
has ever been employed in the religious worship of Jews and 
Christians, yet it seems not to have been imagined till lately, 
that this delightful art had been perverted and degraded by 
being employed to sustain heathenism, and to. pander to intem- 
perance, licentiousness, and war ; nor that it could ever be 
made thoroughly Christian, and thus exalted in character and 
effect. The great poets of antiquity were so fully heathen, 
and some of them, as Anacreon and Horace, had woven so 
many garlands for the intoxicating cup, that it seems to have 
been taken for granted that the muse could never be made to 
pour forth numbers as sweet and enticing on loftier and purer 
themes. Even the splendid efforts of Milton and Dante did 
not open the eyes of Christians to the true use of poetry. In- 
deed, the polytheistic and warlike numbers of Homer and 
Virgil, and the bacchanalian songs of the ancient lesser poets, 
were piety and purity, compared to the philosophic blasphemy 
of Shelley, the atheism and profligacy of Byron and Moore, 
and — must I add P — the bacchanalian songs of Robert Burns. 
Furthermore, if it be true, as Milton affirmed, that a poet's 
life is itself a true poem, we shall be obliged sadly to swell 
the list of modern poems devoted to vice and irreligion. For 
when biography informs us that Addison, Prior, and Steele 
were intemperate, that Thomson was a voluptuary, Goldsmith 
dissipated, Sterne a decided sensualist, and that even Johnson 
could practise abstinence but not temperance, and when we 
know, that though Pope's constitution was too delicate to al- 
low him to indulge in luxurious excesses, yet his writings 
show a bad preeminence of wantonness and indecency, we 
are led to exclaim with Milton, — 
2* 



18 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

" God of our fathers, what is man ! 
Nor do I name of men the common route, 
That, wandering loose abroad, 
Grow up and perish as the summer fly, — 
Heads without name, no more remembered, « — 
But such as thou hast solemnly elected, 
"With gifts and graces eminently adorned, 
For some great work — thy glory." 

And then, too, consider the moral character of modern dra- 
matic poetry, so decidedly worse than the noble tragic poetry 
of antiquity. From the days of Dryden to the present, — for 
even Shakspeare, with all his splendid moral sentiments, was 
undoubtedly a libertine in principle and practice, — scarcely a 
dramatic poet has appeared whose " entire unweeded vol- 
umes," as Hannah More calls them, can be conscientiously 
recommended, save the Comus and Samson Agonistes of Mil- 
ton, and a few other plays of kindred character. We have 
seen, too, that lyric poetry — more influential than any other 
upon public morals — has been prostituted to the cause of in- 
temperance and revelry, from the time when Anacreon indit- 
ed his'H <yr\ ^sXaiva 7t/^si,and Horace his Nunc est bibendum, 
down to the period when Burns exclaimed, 

" We'll tak' a cup o* kindness yet, 
For auld lang syne ; " 

or, still later, when the echo came from Moore, — 

"Friend of my life, this wine cup sip." 

But thanks be to God, that in these latter days he has cre- 
ated some greater and some lesser Christian lights, and placed 
them in the poetic firmament, where they already begin to 
rule the day and the night. First came Milton ; a permanent 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 19 

sun, not immaculate indeed, but full of glory, and destined 
for a long time to rule the day. Then appeared a milder lu- 
minary ; foremost in the train of evening, and delightful to 
look upon, as reflected from the volumes of Cowper. And a 
noble train of kindred lights, most of them indeed lesser stars, 
have since shone in the literary heavens, bearing the names 
of Watts, Heber, Montgomery, Young, and others ; to which 
I might add several lights that have dotted the darkness of our 
western hemisphere. We were also startled, not long since, 
by the flash of a meteor shooting athwart the eastern heavens, 
and having marked out the Course of Time, vanishing from 
sight,— 

" As sets the morning star, which goes not down 
Behind the darkened west, nor hides obscured 
Among the tempest of the sky, but melts away 
Into the light of heaven." 

Nor ought I to omit to point to that noble luminary, which, 
for so long a period, has been burning with a mild and steady 
light above the lakes and mountains of Northern England, 
and which gives us some foretaste of what the literary hem- 
isphere will be when poetic inspiration shall consent to receive 
a higher inspiration from the fountain of Scripture — far purer 
than Castalia. To bring about that golden age of poetry, 
should be the grand object of its cultivators ; especially of 
those who can claim the nascitur, non Jit. Then, and not till 
then, will it be seen how noble an auxiliary to virtue and re- 
ligion is the poetic element in man. 

There is another department of polite literature that has 
been, still more than poetry, monopolized by vice and irreli- 
gion, and which, I fear, will be still harder to reclaim. To 
minds averse to close thinking, to those whose tastes and hab- 
its are all artificial, and who have never acquired a relish for 



20 THE HIGHEST TTSE OF LEARNING. 

the beauties and wonders of nature, as well as to those who 
are the slaves of appetite and passion, the novel and the ro- 
mance have ever possessed irresistible attractions. And since 
these three classes form, to a greater or less extent, the prin- 
cipal part of society, this is the literature that is most widely 
and abundantly diffused. And while the demand has created 
a supply, so, according to a principle of political economy, a 
surplus supply has increased the demand. The pen and the 
press have been prolific beyond all precedent ; and the quality 
of the article has varied according to the demands of fashion. 
At one time the gross and disgusting descriptions of Fielding 
and Smollet met the popular taste. Anon, what Hannah 
More calls the u non-morality " of the Great Unknown, was 
in excellent gout. And since that prolific fountain has been 
dried up, others, who, alas for the cause of virtue and reli- 
gion are too well known, have not failed to disgorge tales of 
all sorts, suited to every variety of appetite, from the most 
delicate and refined to the most gross and grovelling. For, 
like the frogs of Egypt, these productions have not been con- 
fined to the boudoirs of the literati, nor to the centre tables 
and withdrawing rooms of wealth and fashion, but have 
found their way to the kneading troughs of the kitchen ; com- 
ing there, it may be, in one of those enormous products of 
the modern press that might be mistaken for a winding sheet, 
and which, I fear, has proved the winding sheet of many a 
noble intellect. 

I am aware that not a few authors, disgusted with these 
perversions of fictitious literature, have made many praise- 
worthy efforts to turn its current into the channels of virtue 
and religion. Nor have they failed to obtain many interested 
readers. But I fear that in most cases it is the well-arranged 
story, and not its moral, which has awakened interest ; — 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 21 

" First raising a combustion of desire, 
With some cold moral they would quench the fire." 

But Leviathan is not so tamed. Yet the fact that the love 
of novelty is so strong naturally in the heart, shows us that in 
some way or other it was meant to be gratified. And when 
we learn that the wonders of nature far transcend the won- 
ders of romance, is it not evident, that if men can be brought 
to love nature, and those branches of knowledge which unlock 
her Elysian fields, this desire can be fully satisfied with real- 
ities, without the aid of fiction ? I have little hope that any 
successful headway can be made against that morbid love of 
fiction which has become the almost universal passion, until 
you can implant in man's heart a love of unsophisticated na- 
ture. This once done, and the fascinations of romance would 
become powerless under the overmastering influence of the 
new affection. To restore nature, therefore, to the throne of 
the heart, and expel the meretricious usurper, is the noble 
work that lies before the scholar of the nineteenth century. 
And when it shall be accomplished, as I doubt not it will be, 
and the deluge of fictitious literature that now almost buries 
the civilized world, shall have passed into the limbo of for- 
getfulness, it will be found that a mighty barrier to the prog- 
ress of true knowledge and true religion has been taken out 
of the way, and that the heart which is alive to nature's beau- 
ties is well prepared to love the God of nature, as well as the 
God of revelation. 

It is not necessary to spend time in showing that rhetoric 
and oratory, two other important branches of polite literature, 
are capable of the same perversion to unworthy purposes as 
the subjects already noticed. In every human heart there are 
chords, which, when struck by the silver bow of the rhetori- 
cian, or the magic wand of the orator, cannot but vibrate and 



22 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

give back a response. But when stormy passion, or reckless 
irreligion, sweeps over those chords, they return only discord- 
ant sounds, that grate harshly upon the ear of virtue and pi- 
ety. But when they are touched by the delicate and skilful 
hands of true benevolence, the tones which they return resemble 
the music of heaven, and they excite the spirit of heaven all 
around. To promote that spirit is doubtless the grand object 
to which the Creator intended the flowers of rhetoric and the 
strains of eloquence should be devoted. How immensely im- 
portant, then, that Christian scholars should rescue these 
branches from the hands of the unprincipled and the wicked, 
and convert them to their legitimate use, as auxiliaries of vir- 
tue and religion ! 

Some worthy men, I know, look with a jealous eye upon 
the use of rhetorical and oratorical skill in aid of religion. 
They feel as if no attempt should be made to set off and rec- 
ommend the naked truth. But, as remarked by Dr. Camp- 
bell, how much better for the minister of the gospel to write 
so as to make the critic turn Christian, than to write so as to 
make the Christian turn critic ! 

It is not in human nature to avoid receiving a powerful im- 
pression from a skilful choice and collocation of words ; and 
why should not religion avail itself of this means of giving 
truth a keener edge ? It may, indeed, be carried to excess, 
as Dante seems to have done in his descriptions of the phys- 
ical torments of perdition. But Milton, while he has given 
an awful distinctness and force to those same torments, has 
not exaggerated them ; and why may not religion use this 
power, as any other proper means, to impress divine truth ? 
In this respect, thus far, the children of this world have been 
wiser than the children of light. 

In passing from literature to science, on the great circle of 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 23 

human knowledge, we meet with intellectual and moral phi- 
losophy. But so obvious is the connection between the latter 
and the principles of religion, that we need not delay upon its 
elucidation. For every theory of morals, that is not radically 
defective, makes the origin of moral obligation identical with 
that of religious obligation. So that, in fact, moral philosophy 
is only one branch of natural theology. I regard politics, 
also, or the principles by which nations should be governed 
and regulated, as only a branch of ethics ; or, rather, as a 
special application of the principles of morality and religion ; 
though I greatly fear that expediency and self-interest have 
thus far been the basis of political action more frequently 
than moral or religious principle. By some writers, intellect- 
ual philosophy, or psychology, or metaphysics, as they would 
rather choose to denominate the science, has been supposed, 
upon the whole, quite disastrous to religion. For when they 
consult ecclesiastical history, they find that the most fatal er- 
rors in religion have usually been based upon some false sys- 
tem of metaphysics, and that behind its hypothetical and 
unintelligible dogmas, the ablest sceptics have intrenched 
themselves. They regard u the modern philosophy of the 
human mind, for the most part, as a mere system of abstrac- 
tions," " having almost nothing to offer of practical instruc- 
tion ; " and although " the philosophy of the agency of sen- 
tient and voluntary beings is a matter of rational curiosity, 
it is nothing more." 

I quote here, for the most part, the language of an able re- 
cent author. But admitting the truth of these statements, 
they show one thing at least ; that unless theologians are fa- 
miliar with the systems of mental philosophy, so ably defend- 
ed by eminent men, how can they hope to expose and refute 
such men when they employ metaphysical subtleties to per- 



24 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

vert religious truth ? If the theologist does not display equal 
acuteness with the ontologist, the latter will triumph in his as- 
saults upon religion. And if it be a false metaphysical philos- 
ophy that has led a man to adopt a false religious creed, how 
important that the advocate of religion should be able to meet 
the errorist on his own ground, and not only to show him that 
he started wrong, but to put him upon the right track ! " If it 
be a murky or misty region," says a late writer, " carry the 
blazing torch of demonstrated truth into every cloudy cave 
and den, encompass every fastness where error lurks, and 
pour in the fire of a burning logic. The surest way to get 
protection from the open, and especially the secret ravages 
of a mischievous beast, is to hunt him down in his own 
lair." * 

But it is said, that all experience shows that there is no 
safety save in keeping religion entirely aloof from metaphys- 
ics. What centuries of disaster followed the attempt of the 
ancient fathers to incorporate the metaphysics of Platonism 
with Christianity ! And how much longer in the dark ages 
did the pall of ignorance and a perverted Christianity rest 
upon the world, because it was held down by the Peripatetic 
Philosophy, resting on it like an incubus ! In our own day, 
too, we have seen a glacial period commence in a portion of 
the church, from the freezing influence of German meta- 
physics, which threatens to be as long and as rigid as the 
analogous geological period. 

Now, were the question whether it were better for men to 
receive with childlike confidence the declarations of the Bi- 
ble, without reference to ontological systems, all, probably, 
would reply in the affirmative. But the difficulty is, that in- 

* Professor Fiske's Address at East Windsor, p. 8. 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 25 

genious and speculative men will construct their philosophical 
strait jackets, into which they will force the doctrines of 
revelation. And when the friends of piety see that Religion 
is panting and almost strangled by this cramping Procrustean 
process, how shall they liberate her ? They must have help 
to do it ; and denunciation and mere zeal will not bring help. 
They must show by a careful examination and measurement 
of the entire warp, and woof, and cut of this philosophical 
dress, that however agreeable it may be to the latest fashion, 
it cramps the heart and the vitals, stops the circulation of the 
blood, and is shrivelling up the extremities ; and then will all 
the friends of religion join in stripping off the murderous 
vestment. Do you suppose that the errors of Platonism, and 
the peripatetic philosophy would ever have been weeded out 
from Christian doctrines, except by men who had so thorough- 
ly examined them as to be in no danger of plucking up the 
truth also ? Who but metaphysicians could have exorcised 
that famous Plastic Nature, conjured from the " vasty deep," 
by so powerful a necromancer as Cudworth ? Who but men 
versed in the subtleties of dreamy abstractions could have 
coped successfully with the Scottish prince of sceptics, when 
he had gathered a dense fog around him, and under cover of 
it had assailed the first principles of all religion ? Had Kant 
been unskilled in the abstruse speculations of mental philoso- 
phy, he could not so effectually have demolished the panthe- 
ism of Spinoza ; and still more essential is such knowledge 
to show the fallacy of those more recent forms of the same 
doctrine, the natural pantheism of Schelling, and the idealism 
of Fichte. 

Another effort of the German mind is to show that the ar- 
gument from design, to prove the divine existence, as ad- 
vanced by Derham* Ray, Paley, and the Bridgewater Trea- 
3 



26 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

tises, is false, and that the idea of God is derived from a sort 
of intuition of the pure reason ; nor could the external world 
possibly excite the idea of God. These opinions have gained 
not a little credence in this country, falling in, as they do, 
with what is called a spiritual philosophy, or transcendental- 
ism. Now that there is a moral order in the world, and in 
the mind itself, and that the understanding, perceiving this, 
naturally infers that a Being of infinite moral perfections must 
be the author of both, — because we instinctively refer every 
effect to a cause, — cannot be doubted. But on this view, 
this moral argument, as it is called, becomes only a single ex- 
ample of the argument from design ; and by no means inval- 
idates or supersedes other forms of the argument derived from 
the external world. Dr. Paley's argument was indeed defec- 
tive, because he did not refer to mental philosophy to prove 
the spirituality of the Deity. But that defect is abundantly 
supplied by Chalmers, Crombie, and Brougham, so that now 
the argument which Paley labored to establish is impregna- 
ble ; but it will require the vigorous efforts of men versed in 
abstruse metaphysics to bring it out of the fog and dust with 
which it has been enveloped. 

I have alluded to transcendentalism, dignified as it has been 
by the name of u spiritual philosophy," in distinction from the 
Baconian or inductive, which is called " sensuous." This is 
also a product of German metaphysics ; and when one sees 
what an absolutely unintelligible jargon is used in its enunci- 
ation, by its ablest originators, such as Fichte, Schelling, and 
Hegel, he finds it difficult to conceive how it has exerted such 
an influence upon religion. But the fact is, there is always 
to some minds, especially in youth, a wonderful charm in a 
philosophy that is esoteric. They love to believe themselves 
capable of discovering a hidden meaning in facts and princi- 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 27 

pies, which the uninitiated cannot discover. Hence, let some 
man of real talents and learning, as Swedenborg, for instance, 
solemnly and pertinaciously declare that he does " see what 
is not to be seen," and he will not want followers, who soon 
come to have a clear vision for double senses and spiritual 
meanings. Indeed, a man of talents has only to be obscure 
in his style and meaning, in order to be regarded by a large 
proportion of the world, and among them not a few recently 
fledged literati, as very profound. On the contrary, that beau- 
tiful simplicity and clearness of style and thought, which are 
the result of long and patient investigation, and which charac- 
terize the highest order of talent, are regarded by the same 
class as evidence of a superficial mind and destitution of gen- 
ius. Accordingly, the temptation is very strong with writers 
and public speakers, who would be popular, to wrap them- 
selves in the mantle of mystery and obscurity ; so that the 
remark of Dr. Griffin is too true, that the last attainment of 
the orator is simplicity ; and we may say the same, also, in 
respect to the philosopher. But if men of talents will mount 
in the air balloon of metaphysical speculation, into transcen- 
dental regions of clouds and nebulae, and through their speak- 
ing trumpets announce the discovery of new worlds, unknown 
to the Bible or to science, Christian men must ascend after 
them in a similar vehicle, bearing with them the torch of 
truth, to ascertain whether a fog bank has not been mistaken 
for a planet. 

I have thus far spoken of the value of mental science as a 
necessary means of detecting religious errors originating in 
the same science. But it has also many direct and important 
bearings upon religious truth. Did the time permit me to 
point them out, however, it would be little more than a repe- 
tition of what has been recently said better and more fully 



28 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

than I can do, by one of my colleagues.* I pass, therefore, 
to another important sign in the great zodiac of human knowl- 
edge. On that circle mathematics follows naturally after 
metaphysics, because it furnishes us with the noblest exam- 
ples of abstract truth in the universe. 

But I fancy that I hear one and another whispering, " What 
possible connection can there be between mathematics and 
religion ? " The pure abstractions of this science do not, 
indeed, lead the mind directly to a Deity, since they may be 
conceived to be necessary and eternal truths. They are not 
the result of an induction from facts, but of a comparison of 
ideas. And it is the facts of the natural world that most strik- 
ingly discover to us the wonders of adaptation and design, 
and lead the mind irresistibly to infer a Supreme Being. But 
what is the basis on which most of this adaptation and design 
rests ? Chiefly, I answer, the laws of mathematics. Look up 
to the heavens, and you will find those laws controlling all 
the movements of suns and planets with infallible precision. 
Every movement on earth, also, which is either mechanical 
or chemical, is equally dependent upon mathematical laws. 
Vital operations, too, so far as they result from chemical and 
mechanical forces, must be referred to the same principles. 
I do not assert that life and intellect are governed by mathe- 
matical laws ; but their operations have all the precision of 
mathematics, and, I doubt not, could be predicted by angelic 
minds, certainly by the Deity, with as much certainty as the 
astronomer foretells an eclipse or transit; and really I do not 
see but the same principles would guide the calculation in the 
one case as in the other. In short, so entirely dependent are 
the movements of the universe upon mathematical laws, that 

* Professor Fiske's Address at East Windsor. 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 29 

to alter or annul these laws would be to restore the reign of 
Chaos and old Night. Let but a single axiom or corollary of 
mathematics be changed, and I doubt not that wild disorder 
and ruin would soon take the place of the adaptation and 
beautiful design that now meet us at every step. Mathematics 
then forms the very framework of nature's harmonies, and is 
essential to the argument for a God. Instead of having no 
connection with religion, it lies at the foundation of all theism. 

It seems to me, also, that mathematics aids us in the con- 
ception of some religious truths, difficult from their nature to 
be conceived of by finite minds. All the attributes of the 
Deity, being infinite, are of this description. But the contem- 
plation of an endless series in mathematics gives us the near- 
est approach to an idea of the infinite which we can attain. 
Follow the series, indeed, as far as our powers will carry us, 
and we are still no nearer the end than when we started. 
But we have got hold of the thread that would conduct us, if 
our Daedalian wings did not fail us, across that interminable 
abyss which separates the finite from the infinite ; and when 
we transfer our mathematical conceptions to the Deity, we can 
hardly fail to meditate upon his glories with deeper amaze- 
ment. 

To many minds all explanations of the biblical doctrine of 
the Trinity appear so absurd and contradictory as not to ad- 
mit of belief. Let it, however, be stated to such a man, for 
the first time, that two lines may approach each other forever 
without meeting, and it will appear to him as absurd as the 
doctrine of the Trinity. But after you have demonstrated to 
him the properties of the hyperbola and its asymptote, the ap- 
parent absurdity vanishes. And so after the theologian has 
stated, that by divine unity he means only a" numerical unity, 
— in other words, that there is but one Supreme Being, and 
3* 



30 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

that the three persons of the Godhead are one in this sense, 
and three only in those respects not inconsistent with this 
unity, every philosophical mind, whether it admit or not that 
the Scriptures teach the doctrine of the Trinity, must see that 
there is no absurdity or contradiction in this view of it. 
Hence it may happen, and indeed it has happened, that the 
solution of a man's difficulties on this subject may originate 
in a proposition of conic sections. 

Other peculiar truths of revelation receive striking support 
from the application of mathematical principles. Among 
these is the doctrine of special or miraculous providence. 
Professor Babbage, in that singular yet ingenious work, 
called the Ninth Bridgewater Treatise, has shown mathemat- 
ically, that miracles may have formed a part of the original 
and foreordained plan of the universe, and that their occur- 
rence may be as really the result of natural laws as ordina- 
ry events — a doctrine which, indeed, had been previously 
advanced by Butler. And in this way is the famous objection 
of David Hume to miracles proved by mathematics to be 
groundless. 

Other religious applications of mathematics might be point- 
ed out. But we must hasten forward to that wide space on the 
circle of human knowledge, occupied by the inductive sci- 
ences. These comprehend, in fact, all those branches that 
relate to the material universe ; and when we have glanced at 
them, we shall have completed the circuit of literature and 
science. 

And here, at the outset, we remark, that from these sciences 
have been gathered that great mass of facts which constitute 
the essence of natural theology, by such men as Newintyt, 
Ray, Derham, Wollaston, Paley, Brown, and the authors of 
the Bridgewater Treatises. The a posteriori argument for 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 31 

the divine existence rests upon them, and, indeed, almost all 
the truths pertaining to the character of the Deity and his 
government that nature discloses. They are arguments which 
all men can readily understand and appreciate ; for although 
a few metaphysical minds have endeavored to throw doubt 
over the validity of the argument from design, as I have al- 
ready stated, yet this is in fact the only evidence that does 
interest and satisfy the great mass of men. When they see 
such wonderful effects as physical science discloses, they are 
led irresistibly, by a universal law of the human mind, to re- 
fer them to some adequate cause ; and no cause can be ade- 
quate save an infinite Deity. Natural theology has selected 
only the most striking of these effects. But in truth every 
fact of inductive science furnishes an argument for theism. 
So that to a man in a morally healthy state, every scientific 
truth becomes a religious truth, and nature is converted into 
one great temple, where sacred fire is always burning upon 
the altars, where hovers the glorious Shekinah, and where, 
from a full orchestra, the anthem of praise is ever ascending. 
In accordance with this view, we find that the most gifted 
minds, and indeed a large majority of all minds that have de- 
voted themselves to inductive science, have been the friends 
of religion. And here we reckon the princes of the intel- 
lectual world, such as Newton, Kepler, Galileo, Pascal, Boyle, 
Copernicus, Linnaeus, Black, Boerhaave, and Dalton ; and 
among the living such men as Herschel, Brewster, Whewell, 
Sedgwick, Owen, and a multitude of others. The very same 
argumentation that leads such original discoverers to derive 
the principles of science from facts in nature, carries them 
irresistibly backward to a First Cause ; and, indeed, the induc- 
tive principle, as developed by Bacon, forms the true basis on 
which to build the whole fabric of natural religion ; and he 



32 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

who fully admits the truth of natural religion, is in a state of 
preparation for receiving revealed truth to supply its defi- 
ciencies. So that, upon the whole, the inductive sciences are 
of all others most favorable to religion, and the most intimate- 
ly connected with it. 

I shall doubtless be met here by the objection, that not a 
few distinguished men, found in the ranks of inductive science, 
have been thorough sceptics. And here the names of some 
of the most able mathematicians of modern times, such as La 
Place and D'Alembert, will be adduced. We shall be re- 
ferred to the Nebular Hypothesis of the former, and to the 
Encyclopaedia of the latter ; both of them intended to lay the 
axe at the root of all religion, and to cover nature with the 
pall of atheism. But such anomalies as these are explicable 
in consistency with the general position that inductive science 
is eminently favorable to religion. For in the first place, 
these men were atheists in spite of science, rather than 
through its influence. The spirit of the times, and of the 
country in which they lived, was dissolute and atheistic ; and 
the moral feelings of D'Alembert, at least, were so corrupt 
that nothing but atheism could keep conscience quiet. In 
the second place, they were distinguished in abstruse mathe- 
matics, rather than in inductive science ; and it cannot be de- 
nied, that when men devote themselves almost exclusively to 
abstractions of this nature, they are apt to look with suspicion 
upon the less certain, but far higher and more important 
evidence of moral reafbning ; or rather, they attempt to ap- 
ply the subtleties of the higher mathematics to religion, and 
of course fail of arriving at correct results, because the sub- 
jects are totally diverse, and must be understood by entirely 
different modes of analysis. Bonaparte, who was quick to 
discover character, made La Place one of his ministers, but 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 33 

soon saw that he did not discharge his duties with much abil- 
ity, because, as the emperor said, " he sought subtleties in 
every subject, and carried into his official employments the 
spirit of the method of infinitely small quantities," employed 
by mathematicians. But the grand difficulty with such men 
is, that by confining their attention so exclusively to one de- 
partment of knowledge, and to the cultivation of one set of 
faculties, by a well-known law of physiology they dwarf all 
the other powers, and really become less capable of judging 
of other subjects than ordinary men, who cultivate all their 
faculties in due proportion. This is strikingly exhibited in 
the Nebular Hypothesis of La Place. He really thought that 
it rendered a Deity unnecessary in the formation of the uni- 
verse. But the merest tyro in moral reasoning sees, that, 
even admitting the hypothesis, a designing, infinitely wise, 
and powerful Deity is just as necessary as without it. It only 
throws farther back the period when this designing and crea- 
tive interposition was exerted ; and even the Christian philos- 
opher feels no difficulty in adopting this hypothesis, through 
fear of its irreligious tendency. The fact is, that La Place, 
though a giant in mathematics, was only a liliput on other 
subjects. It ought not to be forgotten, also, that neither of 
the eminent infidel mathematicians whom I have named were 
original discoverers, like Newton, Copernicus, and Boyle. In 
making their discoveries, these latter men were led to take 
broad views of science, and to examine the original as well 
as final causes of events ; whereas such men as La Place 
and D'Alembert only carried out and illustrated the principles 
discovered by others. In tracing out these illustrations, they 
did, indeed, discover amazing acuteness ; but their views were 
so much confined, that they were but poor judges of the rela- 
tions of science to religion. They were excellent mathema- 



34 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

ticians, but poor philosophers. For in the noble language of 
Sir John Herschel, one of the brightest living ornaments of in- 
ductive science in Europe, " the character of the true philoso- 
pher is, to hope all things not impossible, and to believe all 
things not unreasonable." But the character of these men 
would be better described by saying, that they doubted and 
denied every thing that could not be proved by mathematics. 
They are examples of malformation and distortion in the 
philosophical world, instead of fair proportion and full devel- 
opment. 

There is another circumstance which has deepened the im- 
pression that the inductive sciences are, to some extent, un- 
favorable to religion. Scarcely any important discovery has 
been made in these branches, that has not been regarded for 
a time, either by the timid and jealous friends of religion, or 
by its superficial enemies, to be opposed at least to revelation, 
if not to theism. When Copernicus demonstrated the diurnal 
and annual revolutions of the earth, the infidel saw clearly 
that the facts were in opposition to the Bible ; and the theolo- 
gian was of the same opinion, and arrayed Scripture authority, 
as well as compact syllogisms, against the new astronomy. 
But the Christian soon learned that he had misunderstood the 
language of the Bible, because he had read it through the 
medium of a false astronomy. So too, when the Brahminical 
astronomy was first brought to light, and the epoch of the 
Tirvalore tables was thought to be nearly as early as the 
Mosaic date of man's creation, scepticism began to exult. 
But the tone changed when it was ascertained that this epoch 
was supposititious. More recently, French infidelity saw in 
the Zodiac of Denderah a refutation of the biblical chronol- 
ogy. But when it was ascertained that the position of the 
signs on that Zodiac, in respect to the colures, had reference 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 35 

to the commencement of the Egyptian civil year, and not to 
the precession of the equinoxes, this fancied discrepancy also 
vanished : and now, when both biblical interpretation and as- 
tronomy are better understood, every one confesses, not only 
that the science is in harmony with revelation, but that it af- 
fords some of the most splendid illustrations of religion to be 
found in the whole circle of learning. 

When, at the beginning of the present century, the great dis- 
covery was announced, that the principal part of the solid 
materials of the earth had been oxidized, or in popular lan- 
guage had been burned, both the baptized and the unbaptized 
infidel at once declared, that the final destruction of the earth, 
as described by Peter, was impossible, since it is no longer 
combustible ; and since the apostle had thus erred, because 
not acquainted with modern chemistry, the idea of his inspira- 
tion must be given up. It was ere long found, however, that 
the apostle's language had been misunderstood, through the 
influence of the false opinion, still widely entertained, that to 
burn a substance is to destroy or annihilate it. But when 
chemistry showed that combustion only changes the form of 
substances, and cannot annihilate a particle, the apostle's 
meaning was found perfectly to correspond to such an idea : 
and it is now obvious, that he meant to teach simply, that 
whatever upon or within the earth is combustible, will be 
burned, and the whole mass of the globe be melted. So that 
now the tables are completely turned ; and we find, not only 
no contradiction between his language and chemistry, but a 
striking proof of its inspired origin, in the fact, that though 
written when chemistry was not known, it should be found in 
perfect harmony with the researches of that science. And 
the same remark may be applied to the whole Scriptures in 
their relation to all science. The most eagle-eyed sagacity 



38 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

of the nineteenth century has been unable to detect a single 
discrepancy between the two records. The same cannot be 
said of any false religion. The Shasters of Hindostan contain 
a false astronomy, as well as a false anatomy and physiology, 
and the Koran distinctly avows the Ptolemaic system of the 
heavenly bodies ; and so interwoven are these scientific errors 
with the religion of these sacred books, that when you have 
proved the former you have disproved the latter. But the 
Bible, stating only facts, and adopting no system of human 
philosophy, has ever stood, and ever shall stand, in sublime 
simplicity and undecaying strength ; while the winds and the 
waves of conflicting human opinions roar and dash harmlessly 
around, and the wrecks of a thousand false systems of philoso- 
phy and religion are strewed along its base. 

But the religious applications of chemistry do not consist 
simply in illustrating a passage of Scripture. It abounds with 
the most beautiful exhibitions of the divine wisdom and be- 
nevolence ; and notwithstanding the ingenious developments 
by Prout, in his Bridgewater Treatise, and by Fownes in his 
Prize Essay, I must believe that this field is only just entered, 
and that most precious gems will be found in almost every 
part of its wide extent. What admirable skill and benevolence 
does the doctrine of definite proportions and atomic constitu- 
tion in chemical compounds present! Here we see nature 
incessantly performing processes, on which organic life and 
comfort depend, with a practical mathematics as perfect as 
the theory. And then, how wonderful is the isomeric consti- 
tution, recently discovered, of those proximate principles that 
form the food of animals and plants ! How beautiful, too, the 
mode — only recently ascertained — by which this nourish- 
ment is brought within their reach, and introduced into their 
systems ! See, too, what wonderful benevolence, as well as 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 37 

wisdom, is displayed in the laws and operations of heat, by 
which its very excess in tropical regions produces, by evapo- 
ration, the paradoxical result of cooling and rendering habi- 
table that burning zone ; and on the other hand, the congela- 
tion and condensation, produced by its absence in frigid regions, 
renders the atmosphere warmer and the climate habitable. 
Think, also, how, in the case of water, by an apparent excep- 
tion to a law of nature, just as it enters into a state of con- 
gelation, the great bodies of that liquid in our rivers and lakes 
are prevented from freezing up in the winter, so that the 
longest summer would not thaw them out. And finally, what 
substance in nature . is so wonderfully adapted to its manifold 
and seemingly opposite uses as water ! 

" Simple though it seem, 
Emblem of imbecility itself, 
As most regard it, yet in fact, the food 
Of all organic life ; the fruitful source 
Of power in human arts ; and in the clouds, 
The storm, the mountain stream, the placid lake, 
The ocean's roaring and the glacier's sheen, 
The landscape's frostwork, or its icy gems, 
Hence springs the beautiful and the sublime. 
A power, indeed, pervading nature through ; 
Now moving noiseless through organic tubes, 
To keep stagnation from the vital frame ; 
And now the Atlantic dashing to the skies, 
Or rushing down Niagara's rocky steep, 
Earth trembling, staggering, underneath the shock : 
Effects so diverse, opposite, to gain 
By one mild element, a problem this, 
No wisdom, short of infinite, could solve.' ■ 

No sciences have furnished so many and so appropriate 
facts, illustrative of natural theology, as anatomy and physi- 
ology. They have been the great magazine whence writers 
on that subject have drawn their most effective weapons in 
4 



38 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

their war with atheism : but being so fully described in so 
many treatises, I need not enter into particulars. Compara- 
tive anatomy and physiology, however, of more recent date, 
have not yet been so extensively employed for religious illus- 
tration as they will be ; although Bell's Bridgewater Treatise 
upon the hand affords us. a foretaste of what may be done. 
The developments of these sciences are truly marvellous. 
Who would have believed, for instance, fifty years ago, that 
such is the mathematical correlation, not only of different 
parts of an animal, but of parts of different animals, that from 
a single fragment of the bone of an unknown creature, the 
skilful anatomist can construct his whole skeleton, and then 
clothe it with muscles, blood vessels, and nerves, and point out 
its food, its habits, and its haunts ? Yet this has been done in 
many instances ; and the subsequent discovery of the whole 
skeleton has confirmed the accuracy of the principle employed, 
and the results obtained. What a striking proof of the exist- 
ence and agency of a Being infinitely wise and powerful, 
to contrive and create the universe ! For, in fact, we find 
that the correlation of animal structures, so beautifully devel- 
oped by Cuvier, Owen, and others, is but a specific example 
of the great law of harmony, that links together, by a golden 
chain, the great and the small, the past, the present, and the 
future, throughout the universe. 

The science of physiology, however, has often been looked 
upon with jealousy by the friends of religion, as leading its 
votaries to materialism. It would not be strange, indeed, if 
men, who see such astonishing effects result from exquisite 
material organization, and who give but little attention to the 
functions and laws of intellect, should come to think it possi- 
ble that even thought may be only a result of that organiza- 
tion. But the difficulty lies, not in the science, but in these 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 39 

partial views — in that common failing of literary men, to at- 
tempt to group every thing under a favorite science, and ex- 
plain every thing by it. And further, when I find even pro- 
fessedly Christian men defending materialism, and some of 
its ablest advocates admitting that the soul may be something 
"immortal, subtle, immaterial, diffused through the brain,"* 
(I use their very words,) I cannot believe that the views of 
such men, as to the nature of the soul, differ much in reality 
from those of the strict immaterialist, although they use 
different terms. Nor will the practical influence of their 
opinions, false as they undoubtedly are, when understood in 
their strict sense, be likely to be very disastrous ; although 
there is a grosser form of materialism, that is made the basis 
of a hateful system of atheism. 

There are two recent offsets from physiology, which have 
been supposed fraught with influences unfavorable to religion. 
I refer to phrenology and mesmerism. The first has been 
thought to favor materialism, and to lessen human responsi- 
bility ; and the latter, to bring miracles into disrepute, and to 
direct us, for the cure of the body and the soul, to a class of 
dreaming pretenders, whose responses are about as much to be 
relied on as those of the oracle of Delphos, the god of Ekron, 
or the witch of Endor, and whom it is about as impious 
to consult. The merits of these new branches of science, 
this is not the proper occasion to discuss ; nor is it easy as 
yet to ascertain definitely what principles in them are settled. 
But admitting their pretensions, the first seems to leave the 
question of materialism just where it found it ; since it is as 
easy to see how an immaterial soul should act through a 
hundred organs as through one. Nor does it seem to me 
more difficult, on natural principles, to see how the mind may 

* Elliotson's Physiology, p. 39. 



40 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

act at a distance, through the undulations of a mesmeric me- 
dium, than to see how light and heat are transmitted by the 
waves of a luminiferous ether. On the other hand, if physi- 
ology and phrenology tend to materialism, certainly mesmer- 
ism tends even more decidedly to immaterialism ; as the con- 
version of several distinguished materialists will testify. It 
does, also, open to the Christian (admitting its statements to 
be true) most interesting glimpses of the mode in which the 
mind may act when freed from flesh and blood, and clothed 
with a spiritual body. Indeed, I doubt not that, in regard both 
to phrenology and mesmerism, the general principle will prove 
true, that the more ominous of evil any branch of knowledge 
seems to be in its incipient state, the more prolific it will ulti- 
mately become in illustrations favorable both to morality and 
religion. 

The wide dominions of natural history, embracing zoology, 
botany, and mineralogy, the theologist has ever found crowded 
with demonstrations of the divine existence, and of God's prov- 
idential care and government ; and every new province that 
has been explored by the naturalist only serves to enlarge 
our conceptions of the Creator's works, and to impress us 
more deeply with their unity and perfection. These new 
conquests in unknown regions have been astonishingly numer- 
ous within the last half century ; but in the direction pointed 
out by the microscope they have been most marvellous. The 
existence of animals too minute to be seen by the naked eye 
has, indeed, long been known ; but it was not till the re- 
searches of Ehrenberg that any just conceptions of their in- 
finite number and indefinite minuteness were entertained. 
We now know that nine millions of some of these animalcula 
may live in a space not larger than a mustard seed, and that 
their numbers are many million times greater than that of all 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 41 

other animals on the globe. Indeed, the microscope has laid 
open a field into the infinitesimal forms of organic and inor- 
ganic nature quite as boundless, both in number and extent, 
as the telescope discloses in infinite space. Nor can we find 
any limits in the one direction more than the other ; and thus 
does the microscope, in the same manner as the telescope, 
prodigiously enlarge our conceptions of the perfections of the 
infinite Author of the universe. 

These researches have cast not a little light upon a certain 
hypothesis, that has been, in one form or another, often thrown 
before the world since the days of Democritus and Epicurus, 
usually for the purpose of sustaining a system of atheism. It 
supposes an inherent power in nature, capable of producing 
plants and animals without parentage, by an imagined vital 
force, essential to some forms of matter. The ancient phi- 
losophers imputed these effects to a " fortuitous concourse of 
atoms." In modern times this general statement has been 
made more definite by Lamarck, Georrroy St. Hilaire, Bory 
St. Vincent, and others, who suppose that Nature — in their 
vocabulary sometimes dignified by the title of Deity, but still 
unintelligent, and merely instrumental — gives origin only to 
" monads," or " rough draughts n of organic beings ; and that 
these, by " an inherent tendency to improvement," and " the 
force of external circumstances," become animals of higher 
and higher organization ; until at last the orang-outang aban- 
doned his quadrupedal condition, and stood erect as man, with 
all his lofty powers of intellect. Before the invention of the 
microscope, a multitude of insects and worms were thought 
to have this equivocal origin, and to pass through these trans- 
mutations — an example of which every Latin scholar will 
recollect in the directions of Virgil for the production of a 
swarm of bees out of the carcass of an animal. But as op- 
4* 



42 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

tical instruments have been improved, and observations have 
become more acute, the origin of nearly every animal visible 
to the naked eye has been found to be by ordinary genera- 
tion. The advocates of the spontaneous production of organic 
beings, however, still clung to the animalcula and the entozoa. 
But it is now clearly demonstrated that all the former class 
have been derived from parents; and that more abundant 
means are provided for their reproduction than for any of the 
higher tribes of animals. The same is true of the entozoa 
— a single individual of which is capable of producing more 
than sixty millions of progeny ; and it would be very strange 
for nature to take such extraordinary pains for their propaga- 
tion if it might have been accomplished spontaneously. Not 
a single certain example, indeed, of the spontaneous produc- 
tion of living beings can be adduced ; and if there are a few 
cases where parentage has not been yet discovered, the past 
history of the subject makes it almost certain that it needs 
only more perfect instruments, or more extended observa- 
tions, to prove that the same great law of reproduction em- 
braces all animated nature. And as to the transmutation of 
species, geology has shown that it has never taken place ; while 
physiology demonstrates that species are permanent, and can 
never be transmuted. The individual does, indeed, pass through 
different stages of development, some of which resemble the 
perfect forms of species inferior to it in the organic scale. But 
the limits of these developments are fixed for each species ; 
nor is there a single known instance in which an individual 
has been able to stop at any particular stage, and thus become 
another species. 

In view of these facts, it is not strange that most of the men 
best qualified to judge on such a subject — as for instance, 
Owen, the ablest of comparative anatomists ; Ehrenberg, the 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 43 

first of microscopists ; and Miiller, most eminent in physi- 
ology — should reject these hypotheses of spontaneous gen- 
eration and transmutation. Nevertheless, the unusual interest 
which has been manifested by the recent work entitled Ves- 
tiges of the Natural History of the Creation — wherein these 
hypotheses, as well as the nebular hypothesis, are ingeniously 
defended, and that, too, without denying the original interven- 
tion of a divine Power in nature — show us that a long-drawn 
contest is yet before naturalists on these subjects, ere these 
fancies shall be forced into that extramundane receptacle of 
things abortive and unaccomplished, described by Milton as 
M a limbo large and wide," on the back side of the moon. 
And yet, my conviction is that this contest will not have so 
important a bearing on the cause of religion as some theol- 
ogists imagine. For, even though these hypotheses should be 
established, an intelligent, spiritual, infinite Deity is quite as 
necessary to account for existing nature as on the more com- 
mon theory, which supposes the universe commanded from 
nothing at once in a perfect state. Indeed, to endow the par- 
ticles of matter with the power to form exquisite organic com- 
pounds, just at the moment when circumstances are best 
adapted to their existence, and then to become animated, nay, 
endowed with instincts, and with lofty intellects, — all which 
results the advocates of these hypotheses must impute to the 
laws impressed upon originally brute matter, — such effects, 
I say, demand infinite wisdom, power, and benevolence even 
more imperatively than the common theories of creation. I 
doubt not that in general these hypotheses have been adopted 
to sustain atheistic opinions, or to remove the Deity away from 
his works. But unbiased philosophy sees that they utterly 
fail to accomplish either of these objects. And I confess that 
I reject them more because they have no solid evidence in 



44 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

their favor than because I fear that they will ultimately be of 
much injury to religion ; especially so long as such works as 
WhewelPs Indications of the Creator are within the reach of 
the scholar. 

The religious bearings of geology alone remain to be no- 
ticed. And no science, except perhaps astronomy, has excited 
so much alarm as this for its supposed irreligious tendencies. 
But so soon as theologians discovered that while the Mosaic 
chronology fixes the date of man's creation, it leaves the an- 
tiquity of the globe unsettled, and, therefore, a fit subject for 
philosophical examination, they began to see that this science 
might be made to shed much light upon religion. Indeed, it 
already excels every other science in the importance of its 
religious applications ; and notwithstanding the noble begin- 
nings by Dr. Buckland, Dr. J. Pye Smith, Dr. Chalmers, and 
others, the work of development is but just begun. Would that 
my time and the reader's patience might permit us to take a 
leisurely survey of this interesting field. But a glance must 
suffice. 

To say nothing of the illustrations of the meaning of re- 
vealed truth derived from this science, — of collision between 
them there is certainly none, — it furnishes us, in the first 
place, w T ith a new argument for the existence of a Deity. 
This argument rests upon three leading facts of the science 
independent of one another ; so that we may doubt or deny 
one or two of them, and yet not reject the argument. The 
first is, that there was a period when no animals or plants 
existed on the globe, and, therefore, an epoch when they 
were created ; which must have required a Being of infinite 
perfections. The second is, that there have been on the 
globe several nearly entire extinctions and renewals of or- 
ganic life, each of which demands the agency of such a 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 45 

Being. The third is, that man was only recently created — 
almost the last of the animals ; and since he is at the head of 
creation, nothing in nature has demanded a higher exercise 
of wisdom and power than his production ; and, therefore, it 
must have required a Deity. t 

It is obvious that these same facts prove clearly the non- 
eternity of the present condition of the globe ; and even 
though we admit the ancient doctrine of matter's eternity, 
yet its most important modifications, requiring a Deity no less 
than its creation, must have been produced in time, and this 
conclusion is all that is essential to theism. And thus geol- 
ogy, which has been supposed to favor the idea of the world's 
eternity, is the only science, as Dr. Chalmers has splendidly 
shown, that can prove its non- eternity. 

These same facts, and others that might be named, demon- 
strate the occasional interference of the Deity with the settled 
order of nature : in other words, they show us splendid mir- 
acles of creation. And thus is all presumption against the 
miracles of revelation done away ; and also all objections 
against special providence and special answers to prayer. 

This science, too, opens to us views into the arcana of past 
duration, as deep and illimitable as astronomy does into the 
arcana of space ; and there is made to pass before us a splen- 
did panorama of the vast and varied plans of Jehovah ; while 
chemical change is disclosed to us as the great conservative 
and controlling principle of the universe, superior even to the 
laws of gravitation. The unity of the divine plans is also ex- 
hibited to us by the records of this science, on a far wider 
scale than the existing economy of nature can show. And, 
finally, it brings before us a great number of new and pecu- 
liar proofs of divine benevolence, that throw new glory over 
this attribute of the Deity ; derived, as they are, from facts 



46 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

heretofore supposed to prove divine malevolence,, or at least 
vindictive justice. 

We have now taken a glance at the entire and vast circle 
of human learning. And is not every mind forced irresisti- 
bly to the conclusion, that every branch was originally linked 
by a golden chain to the throne of God, and that the noblest 
use to which they can be consecrated, and for which they 
were destined, is to illustrate his perfections and to display 
his glory ? If so, let me conclude my too protracted remarks 
by a few inferences. 

In the first place, what a monstrous perversion and misap- 
prehension of learning it is, to consider it as hostile to religion. 

It is not difficult to explain how a Christian, who is very 
ignorant, and who learns that literary men are often sceptical, 
should distrust the influence of learning upon religion ; nor 
how a mere smatterer in science, himself sceptical, should 
flatter himself that his great learning made him so. But how 
strange that any talented and well-informed man, be he Chris- 
tian or infidel, should not see that all science and a large part 
of literature are 

" But elder Scripture writ by God's own hand ! " 

It must be the strongest prejudice, or the most decided ha- 
tred to religion, which can suppose that one work of the same 
infinitely perfect God should oppose another ; for, in fact, 
learning and religion are only different shoots from the same 
parent stock,; and if their fruit be of opposite qualities, it 
must be because man has grafted upon one or the other the 
apples of Sodom. To set learning against religion is as un- 
natural as to array brother against brother on the field of 
combat. 

We see, secondly, that those engaged in directly promoting 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 47 

religion, and those devoted to learning, ought to look upon 
each other as laboring in a common cause. 

If their labors are such as they- should be, they will help 
each other ; and, therefore, they ought to rejoice in each 
other's success. For though a new branch of learning but 
half understood may sometimes put on an aspect threatening 
to religion, we need never fear but the final result will be a 
new support to religion ; and, therefore, the religious man 
should dismiss all fears and jealousies in respect to sound 
learning ; while, on the other hand, every increase of true 
religion has an auspicious bearing upon the cause of learning. 

We see, thirdly, that the preacher of the gospel may con- 
sistently devote himself to the work of instructing the young 
in literature and science. For, in the first place, he need not 
by such a change necessarily abandon the direct preaching of 
the gospel occasionally. In the second place, by faithful in- 
struction in learning, he may greatly promote the cause of 
religion, and train up many, perhaps, to exert a still wider 
influence in its favor. Finally, how much better that such a 
man should use science and literature legitimately for the 
support of religion, than that they should be perverted by a 
sceptical teacher to undermine it ! In spite of these reasons, 
however, we are frequently told that for a minister of the 
gospel to become a teacher of human learning, is to abandon 
his high calling, and forfeit his solemn vows ; as indeed he 
may do, by engaging in such pursuits from merely secular 
motives. 

In the fourth place, we see that the more eminent a man is 
for learning, the more eminent he should be for personal piety. 
Why, indeed, should not the latter increase in his heart, as the 
former does in his intellect ? For every new accession of 
knowledge is but el development of some attribute or plan of 



48 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

the Deity. The entire field of human learning all rightfully 
belongs to religion, and should be regarded by the Christian 
scholar as consecrated ground. The farther he advances in 
it, the more does he see of the Deity ; and as he returns from 
communion with Nature in the very holy of holies of her 
temple, he ought, like Moses from the holy mount, to show a 
radiant glory on his countenance. 

In the fifth place, what importance does the subject give to 
the pursuits of learning, and the institutions of learning ! 

If knowledge is power in secular matters, it is no less so in 
religion. I know that a higher power is essential to the suc- 
cess of the latter. But I know, too, that religion without 
learning almost infallibly degenerates into fanaticism or dead 
formalism ; and indeed, at this day, true religion will not flour- 
ish except in connection with learning ; and, therefore, al- 
most every denomination is now striving to found and sustain 
literary seminaries. Nor is their importance yet duly esti- 
mated, because but few realize how indispensable is their 
agency in promoting the noblest of all objects, the salvation 
of men ; and, therefore, in our land at least, with a few ex- 
ceptions, their foundations are too narrow, and the super- 
structure too frail. 

In the sixth place, how justly are those honored, and how 
wide an influence do they exert, who found and endow liter- 
ary institutions from religious motives ! 

They may be charged with unhallowed ambition, by men 
who think only of the secular influence of these institutions. 
But he who considers what is the highest use of learning, and 
how immense will be the influence of a well-endowed semi- 
nary upon the cause of religion, cannot but look upon such 
bequests as the noblest of charities ; especially when he re- 
members how much more enduring is that influence than 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 49 

when money is given to most other benevolent objects. What 
names stand higher on the Christian's roll of fame than those 
of Harvard, and Yale, and Dartmouth, and Williams, and 
Brown ? And through how many coming centuries of our 
country's history will their example stimulate others to go 
and do likewise ! By liberal bequests to literary institutions 
while yet feeble and struggling for existence, their names 
have become inseparably fixed upon them, where they will 
remain long after the pyramids of Egypt shall be crumbled 
into dust. In what other way could they have exerted so de- 
sirable, extensive, and enduring an influence upon the world ? 

In the seventh place, what a noble yet immense work lies 
before Christian scholars, viz., to make all learning subser- 
vient to its highest purpose ! 

Sadly have many branches been perverted, and strong is 
still the disposition to divert all learning from its noblest use. 
To arrest this downward tendency, and to bring back all lit- 
erature and all science to the service of religion, is an object 
of the highest ambition, adapted to call forth the strongest 
efforts of every Christian scholar. And let all such take 
courage. For religion is the natural home of all branches 
of learning ; and though some of the sisterhood have been 
seduced into the service of sin and the world, and have for- 
gotten their paternity, yet when reminded of their sacred 
origin, gladly will they return to the paternal hearth, and 
pile richer gifts upon the altar, where they presented their 
earliest offerings. 

In the eighth place, we learn how important it is that every 
literary institution should make the promotion of religion the 
leading object of its system of instruction. 

Other objects of subordinate importance it may and ought 
to endeavor to accomplish ; but to make these the chief things 
5 



50 THE HIGHEST- USE OP LEARNING. 

aimed at, while religion is thrust into the background, is as if 
a man should build an elegant mansion for the sake of im- 
proving the landscape, and with no intention of living in it ; 
or as if a community should erect a church for the sake of 
holding town meetings and political caucuses in it, and hearing 
lyceum lectures, with no intention of using it as a place of 
worship, except perhaps occasionally. 

There is, indeed, a great cry about excluding sectarianism 
from our literary institutions, and throwing them open to per- 
sons of all religious opinions. Now, in this country, where 
we have no established church, it is difficult to define a secta- 
rian, unless it be a man who differs from us in religious sen- 
timents. So that in fact, with the exception of a few, who 
have no opinions or care on this subject, we are all sectari- 
ans ; and to exclude sectarianism from a literary institution 
is to exclude all religion from it. And such is usually the re- 
sult, when it attempts so to trim its course as to suit all par- 
ties. But really, of all kinds of intolerance, that is the worst 
which is furious for toleration, and that the worst kind of 
sectarianism which is fierce for irreligion. The only true 
liberal and manly course for an institution to adopt, is, openly 
to avow its creed, and not to disguise its desire to have all the 
youth adopt it who resort thither ; while at the same time it 
uses no other means but argument and example to convert 
them, nor permits their religious opinions, whatever they may 
be, to have any influence in awarding literary honors. In 
this respect the motto of the ancient Tyrian queen should be 
adopted by every teacher : — 

" Tros Tyriusve nullo discrimine mihi agetur." 

Such a course does, indeed, make the institution sectarian , 
that is, it shows a preference for some particular system of 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 51 

religion. But it is an honest course, and the only honest one 
that can be taken. For if an institution professes to regard 
all religious opinions with equal favor, who can avoid the sus- 
picion that it is either a stratagem for introducing some un- 
popular system, or that it indicates an almost universal scep- 
ticism on the subject ? Indeed, how can a man, who has any 
just sense of religious obligation, consent to be placed in cir- 
cumstances where he cannot recommend openly those reli- 
gious views which he deems essential to salvation ? 

In the ninth place, we see that a professorship of natural 
theology is an appropriate one in a college. 

The main business of such a professor is to go over the 
same ground as we have now glanced at, and to trace out the 
bearing of all literature and all science upon religion. And 
if this be, indeed, the most important use of learning, why 
'should it be left unprovided for ? or depend upon the voluntary 
efforts of the different instructors, whose hands are already 
quite full ? I make these remarks, because such a professor- 
ship is unusual in our colleges ; and I have feared that the 
one with which I have been recently honored may seem to 
have been got up for the occasion, to eke out a deficiency of 
titles. But it is not so ; and it is proper to say, that I have in 
fact, for the last ten years, attempted to perform the duties of 
such a professorship. 

Finally, to the principle which I have endeavored to prove* 
we owe the establishment of many modern literary and sci- 
entific institutions, and eminently of that within whose walls 
we are assembled. 

By recurring to the history of the origin of some of the 
most distinguished scientific societies and literary institutions 
of Europe, it will appear that one of the leading objects 
which their illustrious founders had in view, was to extend a 



52 THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 

knowledge of the Christian religion, along with the arts and 
sciences, to remote and barbarous nations, particularly those 
of the south-eastern Asia. Among the institutions thus origi- 
nating were the Royal Society of London, the French Acad- 
emy, the Berlin Academy, the Academia Naturae Curiosorum, 
the University of Halle, and the Institutions of Franke at 
Halle ; and among the distinguished men who have labored 
in this work we find the names of Boyle, Montucla, Leibnitz, 
Wolf, and Humboldt.* I fear, indeed, that this object has 
been often lost sight of by these institutions ; but their origin 
furnishes us at least with the testimony of most able and com- 
petent witnesses to the truth of the position which I have now 
vindicated and illustrated, as to the highest use of learning. 

But to come nearer home : we shall see that this institution 
originated in a deep conviction of this same truth in the minds 
of those noble-hearted men, who, in faith and prayer, laid the 
foundations on which we are called upon to build. The very 
first paragraph of the constitution of what they then called a 
charity institution contains it ; and in the first article it 
is said, " In contemplating the felicitous state of society 
which is predicted in the Scriptures of truth, and the rapid 
approach of such a state, which the auspices of the present 
day clearly indicate, and desiring to add our feeble efforts 
to the various exertions of the Christian community for 
effecting so glorious an event, — we have associated together 
for the express purpose of founding an institution on the gen- 
uine principles of charity and benevolence, for the instruction 
of youth in all the branches of literature and science usually 
taught in colleges." Here we see no other reason assigned 
for founding the institution but a wish to promote the cause 
of religion"; as if no other benefits to result from it were 

* Oratio in Academia Fridericiana Halensi, &c. habita ab. D. J. S. C, 
Schweigger, p. 4, Halle, 1834. 



THE HIGHEST USE OF LEARNING. 53 

worth naming. Let this fact never be forgotten by those who 
manage and instruct in this college. God forbid that the 
time should ever come when any instructor here shall be 
ashamed, or backward, to acknowledge that the advancement 
of pure religion — even the Christian religion — is the grand 
object for which he labors and makes sacrifices.* 

Let us never forget, that promotion cometh neither from 
the east nor the west, nor from the south. But God is Judge. 
He setteth up one, and putteth down another. How easy for 
him to blast the fairest schemes, and to prosper the weak and 
the trembling ! Nor let our confidence in him, or in the 
prosperity of this institution, be shaken, because it has been 
called to pass through* straits, and other conflicts may still 
await it. We believe that these storms in its youth are in- 
tended, by a wise Providence, only to make its roots strike 
deeper, and to give its trunk greater strength, and its branches 
wider extension in its maturity. Only let faith hold on firm- 
ly to the principle, that God will assuredly crown with suc- 
cess every sincere effort to bind the wreath of learning around 
the brow of Religion, and cheerfully and resolutely shall we 
consecrate ourselves to the great work of sustaining and ad- 
vancing this institution ; and though we shall not be allowed 
to labor long here, or elsewhere, yet while we live, and when 
we die, we may confidently utter in behalf of its pupils, its 
guardians, and all its future interests, the prayer of a hea- 
then, with a Christian meaning and a Christian spirit : — 

" Dii probos mores docilii juventae, 
Dii senectuti placidae quietem 
Bomulae genti date remque prolernque 
Et decus omne! " 

* Several pages relating to the college, its discouragements and encour- 
agements, are here omitted. 
5* 



THE RELATIONS AND MUTUAL DUTIES BETWEEN 
THE PHILOSOPHER AND THE THEOLOGIAN. 



The history of the manner in which philosophy has been 
treated by theologians, and theology by philosophers, is very 
instructive and suggestive. Some of • the former have taken 
philosophy into a close and most cordial embrace, and allowed 
it to modify, and even form a part of the foundation of their 
whole system of doctrines ; and, as you looked at the stately 
pile, you could not be certain whether the human or the divine 
had most to do in its erection. 

Another class have been as jealous of philosophy as if its 
touch were infectious, and its infection death ; and it would 
seem as if they took special pains to make their professedly 
biblical system of truth look as distorted and angular as possi- 
ble, lest they should be suspected of having used the mould- 
ing and the dressing tool of reason to give it form and sym- 
metry. 

On the other hand, the tendency among philosophers has 
been to rank theology below the other sciences. Some of 
them have maintained that the two departments are quite in- 
dependent of each other, and that the question of agreement 
between them is one with which they are not concerned. 
Their business is to discover the truths of science, and to leave 
theology to take care of itself. Others admit the desirableness 

(54) 



RELATIONS OF THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 55 

of a reconciliation, but are quite jealous of any claims, on the 
part of revelation, to superior authority. 

But though thus diverse and conflicting have been the views 
of theologians and philosophers respecting their mutual rela- 
tions and duties, yet the history of the connection or opposi- 
tion between theological and philosophical systems has consti- 
tuted no small part of the annals of the church. And from 
that history we learn two things : first, that there is an im- 
portant connection, and consequently there are important 
duties, between the theologian and the philosopher ; and 
secondly, that these relations and duties have been, and 
still are, sadly misunderstood or neglected. No code of 
•principles, defining those relations and duties, has yet been 
elaborated ; and hence these classes have often treated each 
other like the partisans in a border warfare ; and prejudice 
and illiberality have been the impelling forces, rather than 
Christianity or philosophy. 

These remarks will probably lead you, gentlemen of the 
society at whose request I stand here to-day, and other re- 
spected auditors, to anticipate a discussion on the Relations 
between the Theologian and Philosopher. Such is my inten- 
tion ; or, to state the subject more specifically, I propose to 
enucleate and examine the principles which should regulate 
the intercourse and feelings of these two classes of society. 

I employ the term philosophy in its broadest signification, 
embracing all science, physical, intellectual, and moral. Yet, 
for special reasons, I shall rest my eye chiefly upon, and de- 
rive my illustration from, inductive or physical science. For, 
in the first place, circumstances beyond my control, and con- 
nected chiefly with health, have turned my attention main- 
ly to this department of philosophy ; secondly, the claims and 
bearings of moral and intellectual philosophy, oftener, and 



56 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

with a power which it would be in vain for me to aspire after, 
have been brought before you. And finally and especially, a 
deepening interest seems to be gathering around physical sci- 
ence, both as a rich repository of arguments for, and illustra- 
tions of, religion, and a magazine of missiles to hurl against it. 
In attempting to discuss such a subject, it is gratifying to 
find one's self addressing the members of an institution where 
the freest and the fullest investigation of all truth is encour- 
aged, and where evidence, not authority, is the test by which 
every principle is tried ; an institution, which, while it boldly 
and honestly maintains its own views of religious truth, exer- 
cises the charity of the gospel towards those who reject them, 
and expects to convince them only by manly argument. It is 
not flattery, but justice only, to say that it is eminently by the 
labors of the distinguished men who have presided here, fol- 
io wing in the steps of Edwards, Hopkins, Bellamy, and Em- 
mons, that evangelical Christianity has assumed such a shape 
as to render its reconciliation with philosophy possible. Mon- 
uments evincing the truth of this position rise all around me. 
The Nestor of biblical philology is not, indeed, here to-day ; 
but his works are, and they evince how much he has done to 
unfold the true meaning of the Word of God, and how fear- 
lessly, yet impartially, he sought for the truth ; never inquir- 
ing, while engaged in his investigations, whether the results 
would favor this or that theological system, but whether they 
brought out the true mind of the Spirit. And he well knew 
that if that could once be surely ascertained, it would be found 
in entire harmony with all other. The Nestor of theology is 
still here ; and so are his works ; especially the last and 
greatest one, which gives us results of nearly half a century's 
careful examination of systematic theology. Those results, 
presented in language of such simplicity as only true greatness 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 57 

and conscious strength know how to use, and with a calmness 
and fairness of reasoning which only a perfect knowledge of 
the subject, and a thorough conviction of its truth, could em- 
ploy, stand up before my eye, as one of the noblest monu- 
ments which human skill and piety can raise to God's glory 
and man's good. I mean not that the work is perfect, nor that 
keen criticism, nor that the large-pupiled eye of prejudice 
and envy cannot find weak spots in it ; nor that I should not 
myself dissent from some minor points defended in it. But 
as an American, and a Christian, 1 rejoice, and bless God that 
the venerable author has been spared to place the top stone 
on this column of eternal truth, which I predict shall abide 
fresh and strong, when the Washington Monument and the 
Bunker Hill column shall become only crumbling mounds. 

As an American, and a Christian too, when lately on a for- 
eign shore, it was gratifying, and I hope to some better feel- 
ings than mere national pride, to be able to point to a certain 
Bibliotheca, whose pages, each trimester, open, to the scholar 
and the Christian, productions which combine philosophy more 
profound with biblical analysis more accurate than any other 
evangelical periodical in the English language with which I 
am acquainted. Let this testimony, too, be regarded only as 
an act of justice, and not of flattery. 

This allusion to the Bibliotheca reminds us — as indeed 
almost every thing else does to-day — of another strong pillar 
of this institution, whom Providence has recently smitten 
down.* Nor is it this Seminary alone that feels the stroke. 
When such a man falls, it brings a cloud over the whole re- 
public of letters, and creates a wide blank, especially among 
the cultivators of sacred literature. It will be deeply felt 
even on the other side of the Atlantic, where his able works 

* Professor B. B. Edwards. 



58 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

have been long known and appreciated. This is not the place 
to give his life, or his eulogy, which has already been done in 
a most satisfactory manner. But there is one trait of his 
writings and his character which it is proper I should notice. 
Though devoting himself chiefly to classical and biblical litera- 
ture, yet his active and scrutinizing mind was not satisfied till 
he had mastered the leading principles of almost all branches of 
learning ; and he kept his eye open to the progress of secular 
as well as sacred literature and philosophy. His accurate 
judgment appreciated full well the importance of bringing all 
branches of human learning into harmony ; for he well knew 
that there can be no real discrepancy between one kind of 
truth and another. Hence, when philosophy and revelation 
were in apparent collision, he knew that the one, or the other, 
or both, were not fully understood ; and therefore he wel- 
comed every new ray of light which literature and science, 
history and observation, might cast upon the Bible, and the 
Bible might cast upon philosophy. In a word, he had those 
enlarged and liberal views, in regard to the relations and 
mutual duties of the theologian and the philosopher, which 
made him, in this respect, a model man. From those narrow 
views and prejudices — the odium theohgicum — which too 
often result from exclusive attention to one department of 
knowledge, he was remarkably free. He never substituted 
denunciation for argument ; not because he was indifferent to 
the truth, but because he had so much confidence in its naked 
power and ultimate triumph. It is such men who are wanted 
in the ranks of theology, to command the respect of philoso- 
phers and the confidence of Christians. O Andover ! how 
deep the wound inflicted upon thee in his removal ! 

" Hei mihi ! quantum 
Presidium, Ausonia, et quantum tu perdis, Iule ! " 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 59 

But thanks be to God, that he was spared so long as to be 
able to make an abiding impress here. Nay, the cause of 
learning, of education, of religion throughout the land, shall 
long feel the influence of his labors ; and other lands shall 
share in the rich legacy which he has left. 

And now, before an audienee trained by such men, and 
under the influence of such principles, I feel confident that I 
shall be heard with candor, and, I hope, with sympathy, while 
I attempt to ascertain and enucleate the principles that should 
form the mutual creed of the theologian and the philosopher. 

The first means which I shall employ for determining this 
platform of principles consists in an appeal to reason and 
Scripture, 

We need, however, as a basis for our inquiries, to define 
the limits and the functions of philosophy and of theology. 
The first searches out and classifies the laws of nature ; the 
second presents the principles of religion, natural and re- 
vealed, in a scientific or systematic form. Theology, there- 
fore, has a right to employ whatever facts and reasonings it 
can find in philosophy, illustrative of religion. The principles 
of reasoning, too, are the same as in philosophy. But it pos- 
sesses, in addition, an infallible standard of appeal for all 
subjects that are above reason. The object of philosophy is 
to explain the phenomena of nature, mental, moral, and mate- 
rial ; that of theology is exclusively to defend and enforce the 
moral relations of the universe. Hence the two subjects are 
almost entirely distinct in their aim. The only point where 
they pursue the same track is in the department of moral 
philosophy, which has derived from revealed theology the 
only true foundation on which to build, and that is, the 
character of man as a fallen being. Incidentally, however, 
the two branches treat of the same subject ; as, for instance, 



60 MUTTTAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

the creation, the deluge, and the destruction of the world and 
its organic races. But since revelation does not pretend to 
teach science, nor even to use language in its strictly scien- 
tific sense, we ought to expect, in such cases, only that there 
shall be no real, although there may be an apparent, discre- 
pancy between the two records. 

Thus distinct, in nature and in function, are these two great 
departments of human knowledge. Both do, indeed, connect 
with the same Infinite Source of all knowledge ; but they oc- 
cupy separate and clearly defined provinces, and those at 
work in one field need not encroach upon, or despise and 
overlook, those in the other. Providence intended that they 
should be mutual helps, and mutually deferential. That the- 
ology has a vast preeminence, does not justify an undervalua- 
tion of philosophy, as if it were of no consequence. 

This course of remark leads naturally to the attempt to lay 
down as the first article of the mutual creed of the philosopher 
and the theologian, this principle : That on the question of 
authority, while science should receive all the credit which its 
various degrees of evidence deserve, theology has a higher 
claim to any branch of knowledge not strictly demonstrative. 
A mathematical demonstration no sane mind can resist ; and 
little less certain are the physico-mathematical sciences. But 
where scientific conclusions depend only upon probable evi- 
dence, observation, and experiment, for example, there is 
some room for mistake and false inference. And is it not 
reasonable to maintain that theology has a higher claim to 
credence than the probabilities of any single science ? For 
the evidences of its truth, drawn from so many sources, and 
so diverse, must be considered as outweighing the evidence of 
any single science dependent upon experiment or observation. 
If, therefore, a direct collision could be made out between 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 61 

such a science and religion, and we were compelled to choose 
between the two, theology must carry the day. 

I make this supposition, not because such an alternative 
ever has occurred, or ever will occur, but merely to show 
what are the relative claims to deference of theology and 
probable science. Not unfrequently, where only an apparent 
discrepancy has manifested itself between revelation and some 
yet imperfect science, the self-confident sceptic considers the 
fate of Christianity as decided. But that is only a flippant phi- 
losophy which will not rank revealed truth above any single 
science founded upon probable evidence. Not only does the- 
ology stand above all other sciences in the importance and 
dignity of its principles, but in the authority with which it 
speaks ; for it rests mainly on inspired testimony. 

On the other hand, however, not a few divines demand for 
theology, not only superior authority, but will allow none at 
all to science, in matters of religion. 

II We have," say they, " an inspired record, and its declara- 
tions are not to be set aside, or modified in the least, by any 
pretended discoveries or theories of blind and perverted hu- 
man reason. God has spoken, who cannot lie, and his Word 
is to be received implicitly, whatever may become of the sup- 
posed facts or conclusions of weak and ignorant man." 

Such reasoning overlooks one important principle. All will 
agree that when we know certainly what God has revealed, 
we are to receive it without modification. But he has re- 
vealed himself through human language, and given us no in- 
spired interpreters. We are to ascertain the meaning of 
Scripture essentially as we do that of any other writings. 
Accordingly we do not hesitate to resort to philosophy and 
history, as guides in our exegesis. Nor do we refuse the 
light that comes to us from the deciphered hieroglyphics of 
6 



62 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

Egypt, and the disinterred relics of Nineveh. Why, then, 
should not the testimony of science be employed to elucidate 
the meaning of Scripture, especially when it opens archives 
a thousand times more ancient, and no less distinct, than those 
of Egypt and Nineveh ? No reasonable philosopher asks that 
science should be allowed to set aside or modify any thing 
which God hath spoken, but only that it should be employed 
to ascertain what he has spoken ; for without the aid of sci- 
ence men have sometimes been unable to understand aright 
the language of Scripture — as in the rising and the setting 
of the sun, and the immobility of the earth, described in the 
Bible. Before astronomy had ascertained the earth's true 
diurnal and annual motions, the scriptural statements were 
not, and could not be, understood aright. And the same 
may be true in respect to phenomena dependent upon other 
sciences. 

A second principle of this creed — if it be not too obvious, 
and too generally acknowledged, to require a formal statement 
— takes the ground, that as a means of moral reformation and 
regulation of human affairs philosophy has little power, and 
is not to be brought into comparison with theology. Both 
reason and experience have given so many striking illustra- 
tions of this truth that it seems strange any should wish to 
repeat the experiment. But it is done every few years ; nay, 
at all times we find men zealous in advocating some new phil- 
osophic scheme for reforming and perfecting human society, 
whose essential element is something different from the meth- 
od pointed out in the Bible. The new system may have some 
principle in common with Christianity ; but the author of it 
relies rather on the differences which he has superadded than 
on the agreement. Yet what multitudes of such schemes, after 
an ephemeral excitement, become the byword of the world, 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 63 

and pass silently into that oblivious receptacle of things, " Abor- 
tive, monstrous, or unkindly mixed," described by Milton! 

" All these, up whirled aloft, 
Flew o'er the back side of the world, far off, 
Into a limbo large and wide, since called 
The Paradise of Fools : — to few unknown 
Long after/ ' — 

A third important principle, which reason teaches as appro- 
priate for this mutual creed, is, that entire harmony will be 
the final result of all researches in philosophy and religion. 
It is strange how any other view of the matter can be enter- 
tained by men who profess to believe that the God of nature 
is the God of revelation. For what are nature and revela- 
tion but different developments of one great system, emanat- 
ing from the same infinite Mind ? Yet not a few theologians 
look upon science as a dangerous ally of revelation, and main- 
tain that we are not to seek for harmony between them. " The 
Bible," say they, " was given for our infallible guide, and it 
is of little consequence whether its teachings coincide with 
those of philosophy. The history of the church shows us that 
the two have always been in collision, and it is a dangerous 
enterprise for the religious man to labor for their reconcil- 
iation. Let him follow the teachings of revelation implicitly, 
nor suffer any of its statements to be modified by the pre- 
tended facts or theoretical deductions of science." 

Does this seem to any to be a caricature ? Take, then, the 
words of a distinguished American divine. u We are not a 
little alarmed," says he, " at the tendency of the age to re- 
duce the great facts narrated in the Bible to the standard of 
natural science." " Human science is a changing and rest- 
less thing. It is well that it is so." 



64 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

On the other hand, not a few scientific men, although pro- 
fessing respect for the Bible, and faith in it, yet feel as if its 
statements should have no weight, even upon any matter of 
fact which comes under the cognizance of philosophy. Sci- 
ence, it is thought, has its own appropriate evidences, which 
must be admitted, whatever else goes against it. The Bible 
was not given to teach science, and therefore it was never 
intended to be authoritative in such matters. 

Now, if these two classes of men were to lay it down as a 
settled principle that all science and all religion are certain 
ultimately to harmonize throughout, it would remove this 
mutual jealousy and distrust ; nor would the parties be dis- 
posed to stand aloof from each other, and to treat one another 
as enemies. If they are ultimately to be entirely one, then 
they are essentially so now, and all discrepancy is apparent 
only. Therefore should the philosopher and the theologian 
feel as if they were brothers, whose business it is, in mutual 
good will, to elucidate and bring into harmony different por- 
tions of the same eternal truth. 

Another article of this mutual creed should be, that scien- 
tific men may have the freest and the fullest liberty of inves- 
tigation. They have not always had it. " We remember," 
says Melville, u how, in darker days, ecclesiastics set them- 
selves against philosophers, who were investigating the mo- 
tions of the heavenly bodies, apprehensive that the new the- 
ories were at variance with the Bible, and therefore resolved 
to denounce them as heresies, and stop their spread by per- 
secution." Open persecution is unpopular now ; but I fear 
that a remnant of the same feelings still lingers in some minds. 
They will not say directly to the scientific man, u Abstain 
from your researches, for they seem to threaten injury to 
religion," but their fears of some disastrous influence make 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 65 

them jealous of the man, and fearful that his scientific con- 
clusions may lead himself and others astray ; and hence they 
withdraw their confidence from him, and thus take the most 
effectual way to alienate and make a sensitive mind sceptical. 
But how narrow are such views ! and how idle the fear of 
collision between science and revelation ! How much more 
noble and truly Christian are the sentiments of Dr. Pye Smith ! 
" Only let the investigation be sufficient, and the induction 
honest ; let observation take its farthest flight ; let experiment 
penetrate into all the recesses of nature ; let the veil of ages 
be lifted up from all that has hitherto been unknown, if such a 
course were possible — religion need not fear ; Christianity is 
secure, and true science will always pay homage to the divine 
Creator and Sovereign, of whom, and through whom, and to 
whom, are all things, and unto whom be glory forever" 

The difference in the character of the language of science 
and that frequently employed in religion suggests a fifth article 
of the supposed platform. Different principles of interpreta- 
tion, to some extent, are demanded in the two departments. 
True science employs terms that are precise, definite, literal, 
with scarcely more than one meaning, and adapted only to 
cultivated minds. Religion, especially the Bible, makes use 
of language that is indefinite, loose, and multiform in signifi- 
cation, often highly figurative, and adapted, not only to the 
popular mind, but to men in an early and rude state of soci- 
ety. Science, for instance, could not, as the Bible can and 
does, represent the work of creation in one chapter as occu- 
pying six days, and in the next chapter as completed in one 
day. It could not, like the Bible, speak of the sun's rising 
and setting, and of the earth's immobility. Meteorology could 
not describe the concave above our heads as a solid expanse, 
having windows or openings for the rain to pass from the 
6* 



66 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

clouds beyond. Nor could physiology represent the bones to 
be the seat of pain, or psychology refer intellectual operations 
to the region of the kidneys. Neither could systematic the- 
ology in one place represent God as having repented that he 
had made man, and in another exhibit him as without vari- 
ableness or shadow of turning. But all this can the Bible do 
in perfect consistency with its infallible inspiration, because it 
was the language of common life ; and common sense can 
interpret it, so that every suspicion of self-contradiction shall 
vanish. Indeed, had its language been strictly scientific, it 
might have formed a good text book in philosophy, but it 
would have been a poor guide to salvation. Yet the attempt 
to force the language of the Bible into the strait jacket of 
science has been prolific of mistakes and errors. 

Another principle, which maintains that the Bible has an- 
ticipated some scientific discoveries, should be settled and 
form a part of this mutual creed. In my view it should be 
settled in the negative. For if we admit that one modern 
discovery can be found in the Bible, how can we vindicate 
that book in those numerous cases where it speaks of natural 
phenomena in accordance with the monstrously absurd no- 
tions which prevailed among those to whom it was originally 
addressed ? If it describes the science of the nineteenth cen- 
tury in one instance, why not in all ? But admit that it was 
foreign to the object of revelation to teach science, and we 
can see why its descriptions of natural things accord with 
optical, but not physical, truth ; and, then, there is no diffi- 
culty in enucleating the true meaning of the sacred writers. 
Interpreted by such a principle, we should not conclude that 
Job meant to reveal the Copernican system because he speaks 
of the earth as hanging upon nothing ; especially as in an- 
other place he refers to the pillars on which the earth rests. 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 67 

But both phrases are quite natural and proper for one of the 
most allegorical books of the Bible when regarded as vivid 
poetical images. The grand distinction between the Bible and 
all other professed revelations is, not that it has anticipated 
scientific discoveries, but that there is nothing in its statements 
which those discoveries contradict or invalidate. Often has 
the sceptic announced such discrepancies; but, in the end, 
the Bible has always been shown consistent with itself and 
with science. Now, this is true of no other professedly in- 
spired books. The Koran and the Yedas are often in direct 
collision with astronomy, geology, anatomy, and physiology ; 
and when you have proved them false in science you have 
destroyed their authority in religion. Proudly above them all 
stands the Bible ; and so long as it can maintain this position 
we may be sure of its divine original ; for any mere human 
production, embracing so many authors, and reaching through 
so many thousands of years in its history, could not have 
avoided collision with scientific truth. 

Once more : theologians and philosophers should mutually 
require that those who undertake to pronounce judgment 
upon points of connection between science and religion should 
be well acquainted with both sides of the question. I do not 
say equally well acquainted ; for so limited are the human 
faculties that he who is eminent in one department of knowl- 
edge can hardly be expected to be equally familiar with an- 
other. But a respectable knowledge of any subject is essen- 
tial to decide upon its relations to other subjects. And 
it ought to be a settled principle, that an opinion upon any 
point of science or religion is entitled to no respect if it can 
be shown that the man does not understand the subject upon 
which he writes. For eminence in one department of knowl- 
edge gives a man no claims to credence in another which he 



bO MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

has never studied. A man, for instance, may be most dis- 
tinguished in science, so that his word is law ; and yet, never 
having given his attention to theology, he is utterly unfit to 
judge of the bearings of scientific facts or theories upon re- 
ligion. We listen with great respect to the opinions of an 
eminent divine upon those theological principles to which he 
has devoted so much thought and study. But if he undertakes 
to dogmatize upon matters of science, when his very language 
shows him quite ignorant of its principles, and swayed by 
prejudice, what claim can his opinions have to our reception 
or respect ? 

The distinguished Scotch divine, who uses the following lan- 
guage respecting geology and geologists, no doubt supposed 
himself doing an important service to religion by his denunci- 
ations. " Geology," says he, " as sometimes conducted, is a 
monument of human presumption, which would be truly ri- 
diculous were it not offensive by its impiety." " Thus puny 
mortals, [geologists,] with a spark of intellect and a moment 
for observation, during which they take a hasty glance of a 
few superficial appearances, dream themselves authorized to 
give the lie to Him who made and fashioned them, and every 
thing which they see." The same may be said of another 
eminent divine, who applies similar remarks to the whole of 
physical science. " The third fact," says he, " here revealed, 
[in Genesis,] is, that this world was created in six days. 
Here, again, the Scriptures are at issue with science. Mod- 
ern geologists tell us that this is not possible ; and all we need 
reply to the bold assertion is, with men this is impossible, but 
with God all things are possible" " Natural science is con- 
fessedly progressive, and, therefore, comparatively crude. 
Geology is in its infancy." — Spring. 

Now, whatever effect such language may have upon persons 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 69 

who have given no attention to science, what but a bad influ- 
ence can it have upon the naturalist, who sees, on the very 
pages from which I have quoted, the most decisive evidence 
that the writers do not understand the subject ? not from want 
of ability, but because other studies have engaged their at- 
tention. Suppose that, in reading a commentary on Job, the 
writer had inadvertently disclosed the fact, that he knew noth- 
ing of the Hebrew grammar, nor even of the Hebrew alpha- 
bet. From that moment his criticisms, however much of 
talent they might discover, would be regarded with indiffer- 
ence, if not with pity or contempt, by the Christian and the 
scholar. 

It would be easy to quote examples of an analogous char- 
acter from the philosophers. I might refer to the extraordi- 
nary and even ridiculous exegetical principles adopted by the 
physico-theologists of the last century to prove their favorite 
dogma, that the principles of physical science are all to be 
found in the Bible, as given by Catcott in his work on the 
Deluge, and by Hutchinson in his twelve volumes entitled 
u Moses's Principia." But more appropriately may I refer to 
a writer of our own times, eminent enough in science to be 
selected to write one of the Bridgewater Treatises. In his 
interpretation of the phrase u windows of heaven," in Gene- 
sis, Mr. Kirby makes it mean " cracks and volcanic vents in 
the earth, through which water and air rushed inwardly and 
outwardly with such violence as to tear the crust to pieces." 

I quote another example from a naturalist and philosopher 
still more eminent, not because it has the dreamy character 
of that just given, but because I know how the following pas- 
sage has struck some of the most distinguished and liberal 
Hebrew and biblical scholars in our land. While they sat 
gladly at the feet of this author in all matters of physical 



•70 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

science, they regretted that the same discrimination and long 
study had not been given to the science of biblical interpreta- 
tion before an exegesis of Genesis had been thrown out so 
confidently, which is contrary to the obvious sense and to the 
almost universal opinion of biblical writers. I speak not here 
of the truth or falsehood of the theory of this distinguished 
man, whose writings exhibit so much of the true spirit of re- 
ligion, and who takes so noble a stand against the flippant 
scepticism of sciolists, but refer simply to this particular exe- 
gesis of Genesis. 

" The advocates of identity of origin for all the several 
races of men, as springing from only one primitive pair," 
says Professor Agassiz, " have no argument to urge in sup- 
port of that position, but simply a vulgar prejudice, based on 
some few obscure passages of the Bible, which may after all 
be capable of a different interpretation." " To suppose that 
all men originated from Adam and Eve, is to give to the Mo- 
saic record a meaning that it was never intended to have." 

It is very probable that some may be ready to apply to me 
personally the exhortation, Physician, heal thyself. For some 
do regard me as having violated the rule which I am urging 
upon others, by advancing interpretations of Scripture which 
no sound biblical scholar can admit. On two points espe- 
cially has this charge been made. I have advocated that ex- 
egesis of Genesis which permits the intercalation of a long 
and indefinite period between the beginning and the first dem- 
iurgic day ; and, also, that exegesis of Peter, which makes 
him teach that this earth and its atmosphere, after being 
burned up and renovated, will become the new heavens and 
the new earth. 

Now, were these interpretations original with myself, and 
now first proposed in opposition to the whole array of biblical 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 71 

critics, I might well confess myself guilty, and conclude that 
my zeal to sustain a favorite theory had blinded my judgment. 
But in fact, these views, both of Genesis and of Peter, have 
been advocated by the early fathers of the church, and by a 
large number of the ablest modern interpreters and divines. 
As to the meaning of Peter, Dr. Griffin says, that the view 
above referred to " has been the more common opinion of the 
Christian fathers, of the divines of the reformation, and of the 
critics and annotators who have since flourished." I must 
disclaim, therefore, both the honor and the odium of these 
views, and say, that if I am wrong in their advocacy, it is be- 
cause I have been led astray by such men as Augustine, The- 
odoret, Justin Martyr, Origen, Luther, the elder Rosenmiiller, 
Tholuck, Dathe, Pye Smith, Patrick, Chalmers, Knapp, and 
Griffin. 

Finally, it ought to be a position admitted by the philoso- 
pher and the theologian, that the facts and principles of sci- 
ence, brought before an unsophisticated mind, are favorable 
to piety. A contrary impression prevails extensively ; just 
because not a few scientific men, in spite of science, and not 
through its influence, have been sceptics. Their hearts were 
wrong when they began the study ; and then, according to a 
general law of human nature, the purest truth became only a 
means of increasing their perversity. But had their hearts 
been right at first, that same truth would have nourished and 
strengthened their faith and love. Why should it not be so ? 
For what is true science but an exhibition of God's plans and 
operations ? And will any one maintain that a survey of what 
God has planned and is executing should have an unfavora- 
ble moral effect upon an unperverted and unprejudiced mind ? 
If.it does, it must be through the influence of extraneous 
causes, such as pride, prejudice, bad education, or bad hab- 



72 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

its, for which science is not accountable. O, no ! the temple 
of Nature is a holy place for a holy heart. Pure fire is al- 
ways burning upon its altar, and its harmonies are ever hymn- 
ing the praises of its great Architect, inviting all who enter to 
join the chorus. It needs a perverse and hardened heart to 
resist the good influences that emanate from its shrines. 

A consideration of the mutual interest of the theologian 
and the philosopher constitutes a second means for determin- 
ing the principles by which their feelings and intercourse 
should be regulated. 

It hardly needs a formal argument to show, that it is for 
the interest of both to bring revelation and science into entire 
harmony. The established and intelligent Christian will not, 
indeed, be greatly disturbed because an alleged scientific dis- 
covery is said to come into collision with the Bible. But there 
are others, predisposed to believe revelation, who will gladly 
seize upon such examples to fortify themselves in scepticism. 
Religion, therefore, suffers by merely apparent incongruity 
between science and revelation. Nor can it be a matter of 
indifference to philosophers, to be looked upon as throwing 
doubt upon man's highest hopes and interests, by those who 
defend these interests, and who have taken a most important 
part in time past in advancing science. Suspicion and alien- 
ated feeling between these classes operate most disastrously 
upon both ; and, therefore, mutual interest demands their unit- 
ed efforts to remove apparent discrepancies. 

A second consideration of importance, in this connection, is, 
that science is the great storehouse of facts on which is based 
the whole system of natural religion. And when we recol- 
lect that natural religion does not stop with the mere demon- 
stration of the being and attributes of the Deity, but estab- 
lishes his natural and moral government over the world, 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 73 

and man's correspondent obligations, — also his common, spe- 
cial and miraculous providence, and the doctrine of his pur- 
poses or decrees, — we see how important is this use of science. 
At this day, indeed, how can the theologian dispense with its 
facts in their religious applications ? Let the works of Ray, 
Derham, Wollaston, Paley, Crombie, Brown, Chalmers, and 
the other authors of the Bridge water Treatises, testify to their 
importance. For though the divine may stand firm upon the 
evidence of history, prophecy, and internal character to sus- 
tain the Bible, yet if he can show that its truths are in agree- 
ment with nature, and are even sustained and illustrated by 
it, his appeal, in this thinking and reasoning age, will come 
home with much more convincing power. He cannot dis- 
pense with the facts of science and yet be a workman that 
needeth not to be ashamed. 

On the other hand, the philosopher should not forget that 
the religious applications of science are its most important 
use. When he thinks what knowledge has done in elevating 
and civilizing society, and in multiplying the comforts and 
luxuries of life, he is apt to forget its religious bearings. But 
these, in fact, transcend in importance its worldly influences, 
as much as eternity transcends time. And most sadly does 
he degrade science who overlooks its religious applications. 
These form the ground of its truest dignity, and they alone 
link it to the permanently grand and the eternal. 

But philosophy may also be employed in defending and 
illustrating revealed truth. Of this we have a splendid exam- 
ple in the " Analogy " of Bishop Butler, whose grand princi- 
ple has been applied successfully by Barnes to nearly all the 
peculiar doctrines of revelation. Of all efforts to meet scep- 
tical objections to evangelical Christianity, this is the most 
thorough and complete ; and were this work more carefully 
7 



74 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

studied, along with such authors as Chalmers, Harris, Whewell, 
Sedgwick, Isaac Taylor, and McCosh, who extend and illus- 
trate analogous principles, the flippant and superficial sci- 
olism of the day, that would metamorphose the Deity into 
natural law, would find little favor. 

Nor are these religious applications of philosophy confined 
to the older and more mathematical sciences. Nay, those 
more recent, and dependent mainly upon experiment and ob- 
servation, when rightly understood, are remarkably prolific of 
religious illustrations. Chemistry and physiology, for exam- 
pie, throw much light upon the doctrine of the resurrection 
of the body, and vindicate it against objections otherwise un- 
answerable. The former science, also, points us to the true 
meaning of those scriptures that describe the destruction of 
the world by fire ; showing us that it is change of form in the 
matter of the globe, but not its annihilation. Meteorology 
teaches us how to understand the language of Scripture re- 
specting the firmament above us. And geology, especially, 
lends confirmation to the biblical history of man's creation as 
a comparatively recent event ; it shows us how we should 
understand the scriptural cosmogony, points out a new argu- 
ment for the divine existence, and lends such decisive cor- 
roboration to the revealed doctrines of special and miraculous 
providence, and divine benevolence, that these truths could 
not consistently be excluded from the creed of philosophy, 
though the testimony of the Bible were lost. 

Surely, then, the interests of theology demand that the reli- 
gious applications of science should not be overlooked ; and, 
on the other hand, science should count it the highest honor 
to be able to throw even a ray of light upon God's written 
word. 

I venture here to suggest another use to which science may 



THE THILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 75 

be applied by the theologian. It is well known that sharp 
discussions not un frequently occur respecting the meaning 
of the language of the ablest divines after their decease ; and 
they are charged with teaching contradictory principles. It 
is well known, also, how great complaint is often made, by 
controversial writers, of the misunderstanding of their views 
by their opponents. But how seldom do discussions of this 
sort occur respecting the meaning of eminent mathematicians, 
natural philosophers, and naturalists ! Nor does this result 
from entire unity of views, and the certainty of every princi- 
ple discussed in these sciences. But it springs mainly from 
the definiteness and precision of the language which is em- 
ployed. Take botany or chemistry, for example : how can 
men be in doubt about the meaning of a sentence, when al- 
most every word in it has a settled and usually a single sense ? 
I do not suppose that equal precision could be introduced into 
theology, because it treats of natures more subtile than those 
of physical science. But I suggest whether divines, in the 
definition of their terms, might not advantageously consult 
the directness, singleness, and precision of physical science 
more, and the wariness, subtil ty, and equivocal senses of met- 
aphysics less. I fancy that in the style of Dr. Chalmers, 
which, although sometimes too stately, is always clear, we 
have an example of this improved phraseology. I doubt 
whether posterity will hesitate much as to the meaning of his 
writings ; and perhaps the unsanctifled ambition of the earlier 
periods of his ministry, which led him to devote so much time 
to mathematics, chemistry, and natural history, will be thus 
overruled to the benefit of theology. 

Every true philosopher, no less than the religious man, 
should be desirous that his pursuits may accomplish the most 
possible for the good of society ; for benevolence is a tluty of 



76 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

natural as well as revealed religion. Now, the cultivation of 
science alone, in a community where atheism or infidelity 
predominates, is most likely to prove a great curse. Knowl- 
edge pufieth up ; and hence mere scientific acquisitions tend 
to foster pride, selfishness, and inordinate amhition, and to 
exalt the brilliant few at the expense of the degraded many. 
The result will be, that the most furious passions of our nature 
will exhibit their deadliest malignity in a community where 
science is cultivated, but spurns the aid of religion. 

What a terrible illustration of this truth has been exhibited 
during the last century in the centre of European civilization ! 
Never did France show more of brilliant scientific skill than 
during the savage days of her first revolution ; and her whole 
subsequent history teaches us how dangerous it is to commit 
the power which science bestows into irreligious hands. The 
meteoric explosion which was the result, not only rent that 
unhappy country to atoms, but sent its iron fragments into 
every European land ; and the death groan that followed has 
hardly yet died upon our ears. It was a dear-bought yet im- 
pressive lesson of the danger of committing scientific power 
into the hands of irreligion ; and it should lead the philos- 
opher to feel the necessity of spiritual influence to control the 
energies of science. Truly, as Coleridge remarks, " all the 
products of the mere understanding partake of death ; " and 
as Lord Bacon still more appropriately observes, " in knowl- 
edge, without love, there is ever something of malignity." 

But there is another important fact on this subject. The 
general diffusion of scientific knowledge through a community 
can never take place without the aid of Christianity. There 
may be an aristocracy of learning, as in the case just quoted, 
but religion alone will provide for general education. Left to 
the influence of any other principle, the favored and enlight- 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 77 

ened few will keep down and oppress the ignorant masses. 
Popular education is found only in connection with revelation. 
So says the history of the world ; and an analysis of human 
nature shows us that it must be so. Hence every philosopher 
who is a friend to his species will feel it his duty to promote 
the diffusion of Christianity as well as of science. Thus only 
can the greatest good be secured to the whole. 

The third means of ascertaining and settling the principles 
that should regulate the intercourse and feelings of the the- 
ologian and philosopher is by an appeal to history and obser- 
vation. 

We thus learn the results of many well-tried experiments 
on this subject; and these should have all the force of law, 
and be incorporated into the code of mutually obligatory 
principles. They are more certain than the a priori de- 
ductions already considered, and I could wish that my space 
would allow a fuller enumeration of what has thus been 
taught 

One of the principles thus developed is the danger of exalt- 
ing philosophy above revelation. Unhappily, we can hardly 
glance at a page of ecclesiastical history without finding in- 
structive examples. Perhaps the Platonizing tendencies of 
the Christian fathers for many centuries are the most striking 
illustration in former times. It is hardly strange that those 
who came out of the schools of philosophy into the school of 
Christ should be gratified to find, and be ready to suppose 
they could find, a correspondence between the doctrines of 
their old and new masters. And how natural, in such a case, 
to accommodate the principles of the new leader to those of 
the old one ; or rather to exalt the teachings of the first above 
those of the last. Thus did the fathers ; and though Platonism 
was again and again driven out of the church, again and again 
7* • 



78 MUTUAL KELAT10NS BETWEEN 

was it brought back — demanding from time to time a new 
exorcism. 

But though this incubus rested on the church for so many- 
centuries, and often well nigh stopped its breath, modern 
divines seem to have gained little wisdom by the severe les- 
son. Plato and Aristotle, indeed, no longer vex the church 
by name. But their spirit, like the exorcised demon of old, 
walking through dry places, and seeking rest in vain, has 
commissioned seven other spirits to return into the sacred 
enclosure, not merely to modify Christianity, but to expel it. 
Hence, in modern theological literature, we have profound 
works on the gospel, whose object is to prove the gospel a 
fable ; treatises on dogmatics, without any doctrines ; and 
lives of Christ, from which Christ is excluded. Instead of 
one or two leaders, as of old, we now have scores. Having 
the shoulders of those old giants, Plato and Aristotle, to stand 
upon and start from, it is only necessary to be provided with 
a huge pair of transcendental wings to seem very large to a 
wondering world, as they soar away into the mysterious ether, 
into which those old giants found it difficult to rise, because 
the clogs of common sense hung so heavily upon them. 

Justice requires me to add, in this connection, that the phi- 
losophy which has thus been exalted above revelation so often 
and so disastrously is not that of induction, but of abstrac- 
tion ; not that of Bacon, and Newton, and Whewell, but that 
of Hobbes, and Hume, and Diderot. I know that there 
always has been, and still is, a strong jealousy of physical 
science, as if it were hostile to religion ; but where is the 
evidence of such hostility ? What philosopher of the Ba- 
conian school has ever erected within the church a tower that 
overlooked and overawed Christianity itself, and made it a 
resort for those too proud to submit to revealed truth ? But 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 79 

how often has the deductive philosophy done this ! Divines 
seem prone to forget the distinction drawn with such a vig- 
orous hand by Isaac Taylor. " The entire mass of intel- 
lectual and theological philosophy," says he, " divides itself 
into two classes — the one irreconcilably opposed to the other. 
The first is, in its spirit and in all its doctrines, consentaneous 
with human feelings and interests. The second is, both as a 
whole and in its several parts, paradoxical. The first is the 
philosophy of modesty, of inquiry, of induction, and of belief. 
The second is the philosophy of abstraction, as opposed to 
induction ; and of impudence, as opposed to a respectful 
attention to nature and to evidence. The first takes natural 
and mathematical science by the hand ; observes the same 
methods, labors to promote the same ends, and the systems 
are never at variance. The second stands, ruffian-like, upon 
the road of knowledge, and denies progress to the human 
mind. The first shows an interminable and practicable, 
though difficult, ascent. The second leads to the brink of 
an abyss, into which reason and hope must together plunge. 
The first is grave, laborious, and productive. The second 
ends in a jest, of which man and the world and its Maker 
are the subject." 

A second instructive fact taught us by history and observa- 
tion, is the strong tendency to substitute a dogmatic and 
denunciatory spirit for knowledge and argument. Men of 
superior intellect and extensive erudition are very apt to do 
this in respect to subjects to which they have never given 
special attention. Some new science or discovery has been 
brought forward in such an aspect as seems to the theolo- 
gian to conflict with religion. He has never studied the sci- 
ence, it may be, and cannot therefore hold an argument on 
the subject. But he feels deeply the wound inflicted on 



80 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

revelation, and he cannot sit still and see that cause suffer 
which he loves so well. He denounces the new discovery, 
therefore, and gives no doubtful intimation that its advocates 
are sceptics, trusting to his reputation as a theologian to en- 
force his opinion upon the public. Some, whose organ of 
veneration is large, swallow the ex-cathedra judgment with 
no wry faces. Others, more discerning, see through the ruse, 
and sigh over human weakness. Scientific men look upon 
the whole with 'silent contempt, nor deign to attempt an 
answer to dogmatism and personal abuse. 

Sometimes, however, a scene equally absurd is witnessed 
on the other side. A scientific man, desirous of extending his 
discoveries into the domain of religion, ventures upon inter- 
pretations of Scripture, or statements of doctrine, that show 
him quite ignorant of both. The practised theologian points 
out the fallacy of his reasoning so clearly as to wound his 
pride. But, instead of generously confessing his error, he 
resorts to charges of bigotry, narrow-mindedness, and igno- 
rance of science, and dogmatically maintains that science is 
to be followed,. whatever becomes of revelation. He shows 
towards it and its defenders the same bitter, bigoted spirit 
which he censures in his opponents. Their arguments he 
cannot answer, because he has never studied hermeneutics or 
theology. And so he wraps himself up in the cloak of self- 
conceited wisdom, and substitutes contempt for logic. Men 
talk much of the odium theologicum, as if it were the quint- 
essence of gall. But really, the odium scientificum is often a 
much more concentrated mixture. The most illiberal of all 
bigots are those who fancy themselves the very pinks of lib- 
erality ; and pride never assumes such lofty airs as when it 
curls the lip of the self-satisfied philosopher who is destitute 
of Christian humility. 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 81 

The disastrous influence of mutual jealousy and hard 
speeches between theologians and philosophers is a third les- 
son most impressively taught by history and observation. 
Although many distinguished divines have been eminent phi- 
losophers, and science is largely indebted to the clerical pro- 
fession, yet, in general, the two classes have kept very much 
apart from each other. This is particularly the case in re- 
spect to the cultivators of physical science. In general they 
have an impression that theologians feel no sympathy with 
their pursuits, and are not only ignorant of science, but preju- 
diced against it, as unfriendly to religion. And the fact that 
so few in the ministerial office do regard attention to natural 
science, by the ministry, as entirely appropriate, fosters this 
false notion. But it awakens deep prejudices in these scien-^ 
tine minds against clergymen, because they cannot see why 
the ministers of God should not take interest enough in his 
material works to study them. Prejudice prevents that inti- 
mate acquaintanceship which would be its cure. It engenders 
distrust, and produces severe judgments, and keeps those 
apart who should be cordial friends, because they are both 
engaged in the same great business of developing the works 
and ways of the Almighty. 

This jealousy and want of acquaintance with each other 
produces a reaction on the part of theologians, who, also, 
become censorious and distrustful of men of science. They 
learn that some such are sceptics, and they presume that 
nearly all are. Hence, when some new scientific discovery is 
announced, which seems unfavorable in its bearings upon rev- 
elation, theologians are at once suspicious that the author of 
it is intentionally aiming a blow at Christianity — although the 
greater probability is that its bearings upon religion never 
entered his mind. But too often, in such cases, the zealous 



82 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

vindicator of the truth throws out such an insinuation in the 
public ear, and if the scientific man is not a meek Christian, 
the ungenerous suggestion may convert into an enemy of the 
faith one who before was only negligent of it, or indifferent 
towards it. 

But this is not the worst of it. Such a course produces a 
conviction on the public mind, that men of science teach one 
thing, and theologians another. Nor can there be a doubt 
that there is a strong disposition among intelligent men, who 
are not pious, to take sides with science, even when it seems 
hostile to revelation ; and thus may the severe and unfounded 
judgment of the theologian, in respect to science, confirm and 
multiply men of sceptical views. 

This point may be illustrated by the history of geology. 
Ever since Cowper, in his oft-quoted lines, charged geologists 
with digging and boring the strata in order to disprove the 
history of Moses, almost all subsequent writers have repeated 
the accusation ; and I doubt not that the almost universal be- 
lief now is, that the works of geologists abound with open or 
covert attacks upon revelation. But the impression is entirely 
erroneous. In perhaps four out of five of those works, you 
will find able attempts to reconcile the facts of geology with 
Scripture ; but I have never met with a single attempt, in any 
language, by any respectable geologist, to adduce the facts of 
the science to the discredit of revelation. Many of them are, 
doubtless, sceptical ; but they have not done this thing, as they 
are charged. If it has been done at all, it is by men of no 
reputation as geologists. Yet probably it will require another 
quarter of a century to rid the public mind of this false im- 
pression.*' 

* How easy would it be to substantiate these statements by quotations from 
the most eminent geological writers of the last fifty years ; such as Jameson, 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 83 

Now all these false notions would be avoided, if men of 
science and theologians would cultivate a closer acquaintance. 
If men of science were often to come into contact with di- 
vines, instead of finding them narrow-minded, bigoted, and 
unfriendly, as they now suppose, they would, in general, be 
gratified by their enlarged and liberal views, their ability and 
candor in looking at scientific truth, and their ardent love of 
all kinds of knowledge, and cordial efforts to promote it ; and 
many they would find to be successful and eminent cultivators 
of science. In like manner would scientific men appear in a 
quite different light to theologians. Instead of subtle and 
designing enemies of Christianity, they would find many to be 
its firm friends ; and nearly all entertaining for revelation the 

Silliman, Buckland, Coneybeare, Mantell, Sedgwick, Lyell, MacCulloch, 
Miller, &c. But I will refer only to a recent work by two eminent French 
geologists, C. D'Orbigny, and A. Gente, published in Paris in 1851, entitled 
M Geologie appliquie aux Arts et a 1' Agriculture." Coming from a city gen- 
erally regarded as the centre of European scepticism, and whose learned 
men have been considered as unfriendly to the Bible, it is gratifying to find 
that these authors, after a laborious attempt to bring revelation and geol- 
ogy into harmony, pass the following noble eulogium upon the sacred 
volume : — 

" In view of the chronological agreement between Genesis and the most 
authentic geological facts, we cannot but accord to this mysterious book 
something profound and supernatural. If the mind is not convinced, it at 
least bows reverently before such writings, brought out in an age when we 
cannot suppose the first elements of the natural sciences were known, and 
which embraces a development of the principal events of which our globe 
has been the theatre. We find in Genesis something so simple, so touching, 
and so superior in respect to morality and philosophy, that the sceptic, as- 
tonished moreover at the genius that could foretell facts which scientific re- 
searches should demonstrate so many ages afterwards, is forced to acknowl- 
edge that there is in this book the evidence of an inspiration secret and 
supernatural ; an inspiration which he cannot comprehend, which he cannot 
explain, but which strongly affects him, presses upon him, and controls him." 
-p. 107. . 



84 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

highest respect. Their chief fault is, that in their ardent and 
exclusive devotion to science, they are apt to neglect that 
higher attention to religion which its claims demand — a charge, 
however, which I fear lies equally against most other classes 
of society. They would find, in fact, almost without excep- 
tion, that these men were ready publicly to express their re- 
gard for religion ; and while they would contend for the full- 
est liberty of investigation into every department of nature, 
they would resent the charge of intentionally aiming to injure 
the credit and authority of revelation. 

If I mistake not, a reference to the British Association for 
the Advancement of Science will not only confirm these sug- 
gestions, but show that British divines are ahead of Ameri- 
cans on this subject. That association embraces all the most 
eminent scientific men in the kingdom, as well as many from 
the continent ; and they meet yearly to spend a week together 
in scientific discussions. Here we might expect, if any where 
among the cultivators of physical science, an exhibition of 
religious scepticism. But the fact is, a decidedly religious 
tone has always been exhibited in that meeting. Whenever a 
fitting opportunity presented, the addresses of the presiding 
officer, and of the members, have exhibited a spirit not only 
religious in the general sense of the term, but in its Christian 
sense. Said Sir R. H. Ingliss, the president, in 1847, " I will 
only add my firm belief, that every advance in our knowledge 
of the natural world will, if rightly directed by the spirit of 
true humility, and with a prayer for God's blessing, advance 
us in a knowledge of himself, and will prepare us to receive 
his revelation of his will with profound reverence." In echo- 
ing similar sentiments from Dr. Abercrombie, at the meeting 
in Edinburgh, in 1834, Professor Sedgwick remarked, that 
u the pursuits of science, instead of leading to infidelity, have 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 85 

a contrary tendency ; they tend rather to strengthen religious 
principle, and to confirm moral conduct." 

One of the most gratifying features of the meeting of this 
body in Edinburgh, in 1850, which I had the pleasure of at- 
tending, was the strong religious influence which was mani- 
fested. This resulted, in part, perhaps, from the fact that the 
meeting was presided over by that truly Christian philosopher, 
Sir David Brewster. But his noble address was warmly sec- 
onded by others. Said Dr. Robinson, the eminent astrono- 
mer, in complimenting Dr. MantelPs lecture on the gigantic 
extinct birds of New Zealand, u This lecture speaks to us of 
God ; yea, more, it speaks to us of Jesus Christ," — alluding 
to the fact that these birds were discovered by missionaries ; 
and that sentiment was warmly cheered by the immense audi- 
ence, of more than one thousand persons, embracing some 
twenty of the nobility, a hundred members of the Royal So- 
cieties of England and Scotland, sixty professors in the uni- 
versities and colleges, a hundred physicians, and a hundred 
clergymen. Ay, a hundred clergymen ; and in the fact I dis- 
cover the main secret of the religious tone that has charac- 
terized these meetings. And here it is, as it seems to me, our 
British brethren are ahead of us in this country. For there 
is also an American Scientific Association, on essentially the 
same plan as the British. It has now been in existence twelve 
years, and I have attended all its annual meetings save two ; 
nor have I ever seen any other feeling manifested than re- 
spect for religion. But I am sorry to say, that I have met 
there only a very few of my clerical brethren. If they de- 
sire to witness in this body as decided an influence in favor 
of religion as is exhibited on the other side of the Atlantic, 
they have only to attend its meetings and take an active part 
in its labors. 

8 



86 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

A fourth lesson taught by history and observation is, that 
neither philosophy nor biblical interpretation have yet arrived 
at a perfect and unchangeable state. 

Mathematics is the only science that can lay claim to infal- 
libility, and even this admits of progress ; so that new reli- 
gious applications may arise from new researches. The 
other sciences range widely along the scale of probability 
and certainty in their conclusions. Many points in them all, 
and in some nearly every point, admit of further elucidation, 
such as may considerably modify their religious bearings. 
Let the history of philosophy, even in the exact sciences, and 
eminently in the psychological and moral, teach us how vain 
is the pretence that they can assume no new phase in relation 
to religion. How cautious, therefore, should the philosopher 
be, to distinguish between the settled and the changeable prin- 
ciples of science, before he pronounces any of them in col- 
lision with inspired truth ! 

On the other hand, however, let the theologian remember, 
that, though the principles of the Bible be infallible and un- 
changeable, not so is its interpretation. Passing by the wild 
rationalistic theory of accommodation in biblical hermeneutics, 
it is still true, that on many principles of their science exe- 
getical writers are not agreed. The result is diversity of sig- 
nification, when they interpret the word of God. Yet to 
avoid misapprehension, let me avow my conviction, that, so 
far as the essentials of salvation are concerned, the Bible is 
so plain a book, that no theories of interpretation, advocated 
by honest Christian men, can conceal these great truths. In 
fact, so prominently do they stand out in the Scriptures, that 
it needs no rules to make them intelligible, save what com- 
mon sense and common honesty supply ; and hence no soph- 
istries of the interpreter can long conceal them from the 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 87 

people. But very different is the case with some of those parts 
of Scripture hard to be understood, and of others, which can- 
not be understood till researches and discoveries in philology, 
history, and science have given us the clew. So long as these 
discoveries continue to be made will the meaning of some 
passages of Scripture be liable to modification ; and at pres- 
ent these branches of learning are far enough from perfection. 
It is impossible, therefore, that the meaning of some portions 
of Scripture should not receive some modifications for a long 
time to come ; and he does the most injury to the cause of 
religion, who rejects every new interpretation, and considers 
it dangerous to disturb the settled notions of men as to the 
meaning even of the less important portions of Scripture. 
He must have a weak faith in the Bible who fears to have 
every passage in it subjected to the most thorough scrutiny, 
under the concentrated light which all literature and all sci- 
ence can pour upon it. And he must have a very narrow 
view of literature and science who fancies that they have 
done all they can do to elucidate the sacred text. Yet how 
common the notion among divines, that, while " human science 
is a changing and a restless thing," theology — not merely its 
framework, but its entire covering, coloring, and appendages 
— has long since received its last finish ! 

The fifth lesson taught us by history and observation is the 
weakness and folly of predicting or apprehending injury to 
Christianity from scientific discoveries. Such fears and pre- 
dictions are not uncommon. On the one hand, the infidel, by 
a hasty inference, feels confident that the new discoveries 
will give a deadly blow to what he regards a false system ; 
and he exults in the anticipated discomfiture of the Christian 
church. Some intelligent Christians, also, become alarmed 
at the threatening aspect of the new views, and tremble for 



88 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

the result. But how vain are all such fears and predictions ! 
It is the fiftieth time in which Christianity has seemed to the 
sanguine sceptic and the timorous believer to be in great peril ; 
and yet not even an outpost has been lost in this guerilla war- 
fare. Discoveries in astronomy, geology, chemistry, and 
physiology have often looked threatening for a while ; but 
how entirely have they melted away before brighter light and 
more careful study ! Moreover, every new assault upon 
Christianity seems to develop its inherent strength, and to 
weaken the power of its adversaries ; because, once discom- 
fited, they can never rise again. It will be time for the infi- 
del to begin to hope, when he shall see, what he has not yet 
seen, a single stone struck from one of the bastions of this 
massive fortress by his artillery. And strange that any be- 
liever should be anxious for the future, when the history of 
the past shows him that every science, which for a time has 
been forced into the ranks of the enemy, and made to assume 
a hostile attitude, has, in the end, turned out to be an effi- 
cient ally. 

History and observation sustain us in going further than 
this ; they show us that, as a general rule, the more threaten- 
ing have been the developments of any science in its earlier 
periods in respect to Christianity, the more strong and abun- 
dant have been its ultimate support and illustration of religion. 
The introduction of the Copernican system of astronomy 
seemed, to the divines of that day, utterly irreconcilable to 
revelation ; and they contended against it as if the life of re- 
ligion were at stake. Nevertheless, the demonstrations of 
physics triumphed over councils and decrees ; but instead of 
proving the death of religion, what Christian does not rejoice 
in the rich illustrations and auxiliary support which revelation 
has derived from astronomy ? especially in furnishing to the 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 89 

commentator the true principle of interpreting texts of Scrip- 
ture that relate to natural phenomena. So, too, chemistry 
was employed for a time by the exulting sceptic, and to the 
alarm of the timid believer, in disproving the future confla- 
gration of the earth. Yet not only has this envenomed arrow 
fallen harmless to the ground, but the science has furnished 
materials enough for at least one volume as a prize essay, 
entitled " Chemistry as exemplifying the Wisdom and Benefi- 
cence of God ; " and other similar volumes might easily fol- 
low. During the early part of the present century, no science 
excited so much of this false alarm as geology. But already, 
if I do not mistake public opinion, the tables are well nigh 
turned, and, save here and there a disconsolate few, who have 
so long been chanting the death song of Christianity that they 
can never change their notes, the ministers of Christ now find 
among the religious applications of this science rich illustra- 
tions of divine truths ; and from the disinterred relics of the 
deep-bedded strata there come forth a voice in defence of 
the peculiar doctrines of the reformation, and a new argument 
for the divine existence. So that, in fact, this new field of 
religious literature is already becoming attractive and pro- 
lific in publications. To geology, therefore, may be applied 
the riddle of Samson: Out of the eater comes forth meat, and 
out of the strong comes forth sweetness. 

Now, in view of such results, we may confidently predict 
that some recent and yet imperfect sciences, lying on the out- 
skirts of physiology and psychology, although at present 
greatly perverted by sciolism, and made to bear unfavorably 
both upon morals and religion, will in the end afibrd a sup- 
port to both, proportionably strong. What they need now is 
careful investigation by clear-headed men of the Baconian 
school, who are familiar both with physical and intellectual 
8* 



90 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

science. But so long have these subjects been in the hands 
of charlatans, or of men with limited and partial views, thai 
able and respectable philosophers, especially among the cler- 
gy, shrink from their investigation, lest the title of phrenolo- 
gist, or mesmerist, or spiritualist should destroy their repu- 
tation and usefulness. It ought not so to be ; and I am satis- 
fied that not until this thorough investigation takes place will 
these branches of knowledge be placed upon the same sure 
footing on which other departments of experimental science 
rest. At present they seem to me like some large temple, or 
palace, mostly buried by rubbish, with only here and there 
some tower, or minaret, or column projecting above the sur- 
face. Around these detached parts groups are gathered, en- 
deavoring to show that each tower or column is a complete 
temple. But not till the vast piles of rubbish are removed 
will the real temple exhibit its true proportions and character. 
When this is done, I fancy that the structure will be found a 
noble one, and worthy of the infinite Architect. 

I have time to derive only one other lesson from history 
and observation on this subject. They show us how unwise 
it is to denounce any new discovery, or theory in science, 
when they are first broached, as hostile to religion ; and es- 
pecially to take the ground that if the new views are true, 
the Bible must be false. There is a strong temptation to do 
this. Men of ardent temperament, who love the Bible, when 
any thing is advanced which can be construed into hostility to 
its statements, feel as we all do when any thing is suggested 
derogatory to the character of a near friend. We rush to 
the defence without waiting for the dictates of prudence ; and 
thus we may injure instead of assisting our friend. Much 
more liable are we to injure the Bible. There is no need of 
such haste. Christianity stands on too firm and broad a base 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 91 

to be overturned by one or a hundred such blows as have 
hitherto been aimed against it. The true policy is to wait for 
a time, to see whether we fully understand the new views, 
and whether they conflict with the letter or the spirit of revela- 
tion. Suppose the theologian should take ground which he is 
compelled afterwards to abandon, and to fall in with the new 
discovery. With how bad a grace will he come over to the 
new ground after severely denouncing as infidels those who 
adopted it ! How likely to lose the public respect, and to make 
sceptics of those who were before only indifferent ! How 
mortifying must it have been to the theologians who, one 
hundred and fifty years ago, denounced astronomy, to see its 
discoveries at length introduced into the almanac, and testify- 
ing of their bigotry to all classes ! Who can doubt that many 
a man, in despising them, was led to despise the sacred cause 
which they were appointed to defend ? Yet the theologians 
honestly believed that to admit the earth's annual and diurnal 
revolution would overthrow the Bible. But how much better 
to have waited a little before avowing their convictions ! 

How little heed, however, do men give to the mistakes of 
their predecessors ! The same eagerness and hot haste have 
been manifested in our own day to rush into the conflict with 
scientific men, as they have brought out new discoveries ap- 
parently unfriendly in their bearing upon revelation. Divines, 
eager for the onset, have not waited till they could study the 
subject and understand it, but have rushed upon the foe, confi- 
dent that by abstractions and denunciation, if by no other weap- 
ons, they could crush him. Often have they found themselves 
in conflict with a windmill, and all they have accomplished 
has been to make themselves ridiculous, as with fallen crest 
and trailing plumes they have left the field. A little delay 
would have taught them that sometimes, at least, the better 
part of valor is discretion. 



92 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

Allow me to refer to a very recent example, where the cau- 
tion which I recommend would have been wisely adopted. 
Some of our zoologists have advanced views respecting the 
specific unity and unity of origin of the human race, that are 
in conflict with the common understanding of revelation ; and 
at once able divines took the ground that such views are irrec- 
oncilably opposed to the whole scheme of the Bible. They may 
be so ; but why declare it before the subject has been more 
thoroughly discussed, and we are sure that we understand 
it ? It may turn out — and such is my own conviction — 
that the zoologists have too hastily decided this question, be- 
cause they judged of it chiefly from facts in the limited field 
of their own science. Suppose it should appear that eminent 
naturalists are divided in opinion on the subject. Suppose 
that, when they assert that there are several species of men, 
they are unable to tell us what constitutes a species, and can- 
not draw a line of distinction between species and varieties. 
Suppose that we should find zoologists entirely disagreed on 
the subject of hybridity. Suppose it should appear that the 
laws of distribution in the species and varieties of the lower 
animals, which is the grand argument for proving a diversity 
of origin in the case of man, should be found greatly modified 
in respect to him, by his cosmopolite character and ability, 
through superior mental endowments, to adapt himself to 
different circumstances. Suppose we should find examples 
of varieties of men, who have passed from the highest to the 
lowest races, save in color, through the influence of deterio- 
rating causes long acting. Suppose it should appear that eth- 
nology and psychology are entitled to as much weight in their 
testimony on this subject as zoology, and that they should pro- 
nounce in favor of a unity of origin. Suppose it should be 
found that many other elements of this most difficult subject 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 93 

are yet not well enough understood to reason from, and de- 
mand long and patient investigation. Or make the most un- 
favorable supposition, viz., that the preponderance of evidence 
favors the idea of a diversity of origin. Is it quite certain that 
we must give up the Bible, or its more important doctrines ? 
Would the discrepancy appear so great as it did when the 
Copernican system was first announced ? Shame on us, that 
we feel so fearful in respect to God's Word, and those eternal 
truths that form the groundwork of the scheme of salvation ! 
Right is it that we should address ourselves manfully to every 
argument that bears upon revelation ; but how unwise, when 
it is wholly unnecessary, to take ground which we may be 
compelled with a bad grace to relinquish ! 

In conclusion, let me recapitulate the principles, which, as I 
have endeavored to show, should be the common creed, and 
regulate the intercourse and feelings of the theologian and 
philosopher. 

They should start with the principle that theology is entitled 
to higher respect, as a standard of appeal, than any branch of 
knowledge not strictly demonstrative. 

It should also be admitted that, as a means of moral refor- 
mation and a regulator of human affairs, philosophy has little • 
comparative power. 

They can agree, also, in the position, that entire harmony 
will be the final result of all researches in philosophy and re- 
ligion. 

To the scientific man should be granted the freest and the 
fullest liberty of investigation. 

The language of science and of Scripture, as well as of 
popular religious literature, requires different, or at least modi- 
fied, principles of interpretation. 

Revelation has not anticipated scientific discovery. 



94 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

It is required that those who pronounce judgment on points 
of connection between science and revelation, should be well 
acquainted with both subjects. 

The facts and principles of science, to an unprejudiced, un- 
sophisticated mind, are favorable to piety. 

They form a vast storehouse for the use of natural theology. 

They cast light upon and illustrate revelation. 

The harmony of science and revelation is mutually bene- 
ficial. 

The cultivation of science, without the restraints of religion, 
often proves very disastrous. 

The general diffusion of science through a community is 
impossible without religion. 

The precise language of science may be useful in stating 
the principles of theology. 

History shows impressively the danger of exalting philoso- 
phy above revelation. 

And the evils of substituting a denunciatory spirit for knowl- 
edge and argument. 

It shows us also the evils of mutual jealousy and hard 
speeches between theologians and philosophers. 

And the folly and weakness of predicting injury to revela- 
tion from scientific discoveries. 

The more threatening to religion the developments of any 
science at first, the more abundant will be its defence and 
illustration of religion ultimately. 

Finally, it is unwise hastily to denounce any new discovery 
as unfriendly to religion, and much safer to wait till its nature 
and bearing are well understood. 

Now, in conclusion, is not a code of this description needed ? 
I feel the imperfection of this first effort to draw it out ; but I 
offer it as the beginning of a necessary work. Had the 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 95 

common ground on which divines and philosophers may stand, 
been cleared up and marked out centuries ago, how many 
violations of sacred charity and good manners, how many un- 
reasonable jealousies and prejudices, how many angry contro- 
versies might have been prevented ; and how much nearer to 
entire harmony might science and religion ere this have been 
brought ! And how many more examples would the page of 
history have presented of genuine, humble-hearted, Christian 
philosophers, and of high-minded, liberal-hearted, philosophic 
divines ! 

It is such men that are wanted in the ranks of science and 
the ranks of theology ; and the principles which I have point- 
ed out at this time are well adapted to form them. Could I 
excite a desire in the hearts of our students in theology to take 
this high position, I should not have written in vain. For 
what is a Christian philosopher ? He is a man who loves 
Nature, and with untiring industry endeavors to penetrate her 
mysteries. With a mind too large for narrow views, too 
generous and frank for distorting prejudice, and too pure to be 
the slave of appetite and passion, he calmly surveys the phe- 
nomena of nature, to learn from thence the great plan of the 
universe as it lay originally in the divine mind. Nor does he 
stop when he has found out the mechanical, chemical, and 
organic laws of nature, but rises to those higher principles by 
which the moral relations of man to his Maker are disclosed. 
Hence he receives with gratitude and joy those richer dis- 
closures of truth which revelation brings. To its authority 
he bows reverently and rejoicingly, and counts it the best 
use he can make of science to render it tributary to revela- 
tion, and to the cultivation of his own piety. He exhibits a 
generous enthusiasm in the cultivation of science ; but he has 
a stronger desire to have it associated with religion ; and hence 



96 MUTUAL RELATIONS BETWEEN 

he cherishes a high respect for those whose business it is to 
teach it. Indeed, the noblest example of a true Christian 
philosopher is seen in the able and faithful minister of the 
gospel, who employs a thorough knowledge of science, not 
merely to enlighten the ignorant, but to illustrate and enforce 
the higher principles of religion. 

On the other hand, if I were to give a definition of the 
highest style of a philosophic divine, it would be synonymous 
with that of the Christian philosopher. I should represent 
him as one whose grand object is to glorify God in the salva- 
tion of men, by means of the gospel of Christ, but who made 
the whole circle of knowledge, literary and scientific, sub- 
servient to his great object. 

Thus may the philosopher and the theologian be combined 
in the same individual. And why should they not ? To whom 
is it more fitting to be an interpreter of nature, than to him 
who interprets God's work of revelation ? Were such an 
identity more often realized, there would no longer be need to 
draw out a code of principles for regulating the conduct and 
feelings of those no longer twain. It would be like laying 
down a set of rules for regulating the conduct of the different 
members of the same individual towards one another. 

If, then, the theologian and philosopher may be thus identi- 
fied, it must be because the principles of theology are in har- 
mony with those of philosophy. Theology does, indeed, de- 
velop principles which the sounding line of philosophy cannot 
reach. But so far as the two systems can be compared, they 
coincide. And we may be sure that whatever goes by the 
name of science, which contradicts a fair and enlightened 
exhibition of revealed truth, is only false philosophy. To 
develop this harmony should be an object of the Christian 
ministry, second only in importance to its first aim — that of 



THE PHILOSOPHER AND THEOLOGIAN. 97 

the personal salvation of men. Indeed, so enlightened at this 
day is the popular mind in matters of science, that a large 
class of intelligent men will not listen to the claims of Chris- 
tianity till they are satisfied it does not conflict with science. 
It is gratifying to find our young brethren, as they issue yearly 
from our theological institutions, so well qualified, by their 
enlarged and accurate knowledge both of science and theology, 
to engage successfully in this noble work. We bid them God 
speed in it ; and so does the voice of history. For it tells 
them that the issue of every assault upon religion, with weap- 
ons drawn from science, has been to bring revelation and phi- 
losophy into closer agreement ; and hence may we confidently 
anticipate ultimate and entire harmony. It is gratifying, also, 
to remember, amid all the conflicts of opinion on earth, that 
all truth originally sprang from the same pure source — the 
infinite mind. But as it enters this world, its rays are sepa- 
rated, colored, and distorted, by the media through which they 
pass ; by human ignorance, prejudice, pride, and passion. It 
is the noble work committed to divines and philosophers, so to 
prepare and adjust the rectifying glasses of reason and revela- 
tion, that they shall collect and rearrange these scattered rays 
into a pure and uncolored beam, that shall spread the light of 
heaven over the darkness of earth. O, as I look down the 
vista of years, the sweet vision rises before me. The storm 
of conflicting opinions has passed by, and I hear only the 
distant, dying thunder, while the spent lightning plays harm- 
lessly around the horizon. The sun of truth looks forth in 
glory behind the retiring cloud, on whose face it has painted 
a bow of harmonious colors — a sign of peace to the world, 
as its evening comes on, and a pledge of the cloudless and 
immortal day that is to succeed, 
9 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 



No subject of theology has in it more true moral sublimity 
than the government of God over this world. Yet it is emi- 
nently a practical subject. Our views of it afford a test of our 
piety and a type of its character. Nay, there is one feature 
of this government that has been regarded as the chief dis- 
tinction between revealed and natural religion. We refer to 
Special Divine Interpositions. These have been supposed to 
be peculiar to revelation ; while nature moves on by uniform, 
unchanging and unchangeable laws ; nor does the whole his- 
tory of those laws, as given by natural science, show a single 
example of interference or modification on the part of the 
Deity. 

We venture to call in question the correctness of these 
views. If we have read nature aright, it teaches a different 
lesson. That lesson may be worth learning. We choose for 
our subject, therefore, Special Divine Interpositions in 
Nature, as made known by science. 

Let us, in the first place, endeavor to affix a definite mean- 
ing to the phrase Special Divine Interpositions. 

But here, perhaps, it may be necessary to interpose a re- 



* This address, essentially as here given, was delivered at the anniver- 
saries of the Newton and Bangor Theological Seminaries. 

(98) 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 99 

mark, to prevent misunderstanding. We assume, as the basis 
of much of our reasoning, those views, now almost universal 
among geologists, and very common among theologians, which 
teach that this world existed through a vast and indefinite 
period before man was placed upon it. Such an opinion we 
think perfectly reconcilable with a fair interpretation of Scrip- 
ture, though this is not the place to go into the proof. But 
let no one imagine, when we take such views for granted, that 
we mean to cast the slightest doubt upon the inspiration and 
literal truth of revelation. Let us be believed rather, when 
we express the conviction that, if admitted, they afford a 
strong corroboration and illustration of some most important 
doctrines of revelation. 

We proceed now to affix a definite meaning to the phrase 
Special Divine Interpositions. 

It requires but a few years' experience in this world to 
satisfy any observing mind, that natural operations are carried 
on in a settled order ; that the same causes, in the same cir- 
cumstances, are invariably followed by the same effects. We 
call this uniformity of operation the course of nature ; and 
the invariable connection between antecedent and consequent 
we call the laws of nature. If we should see a new force 
coming in to disturb this settled order, we should call it a 
miracle. It might do this by a direct counteraction of nature's 
laws ; and this is the common idea of a miracle. But if an 
unwonted force were added to those laws, the result would be 
a miracle ; and so would a diminution or suspension of their 
action ; for in either case, the effect would be out of the ordi- 
nary course of nature, and this we take to be the essential 
idea in a miracle. Perhaps the best and briefest definition of 
a miracle is, an event that cannot be explained by the laws of 
nature. It may, and usually does, contravene those laws ; 



100 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

but it may show only that their force has been increased or 
diminished. 

This, then, is one example of special divine interposition. 
Is there any other ? Most writers, theologians as well as 
others, would probably answer in the negative. For they 
admit only two classes of events in the universe — the mirac- 
ulous and the ordinary ; the supernatural and the natural. 
And yet most of them maintain that God exercises over the 
world a special providence. It is, indeed, true, that very wide 
differences exist as to the meaning of this phrase. One theo- 
logian tells us that the providence of God " over the human 
family is termed special," and that " over those persons who 
are distinguished for virtue and piety is called most special." # 
Another calls that providence special " which relates to the 
church." f Another regards providence " special when it 
relates to moral beings, to men and human affairs." J 

But whatever may be the views of this phrase among 
technical theologians, the leading idea attached to it among 
Christians generally is, that God provides and arranges the 
circumstances in which men are placed, so as to meet the 
exigencies of individuals, just as he would have them met, 
and so as will be best for them. In other words, he provides 
means exactly adapted to meet the specific wants of indi- 
viduals. 

Now, it is an interesting inquiry, whether this can be accom- 
plished by the ordinary and unmodified operation of the laws 
of nature. We confess ourselves unable to conceive of but 
two modes in which it can be done. 

It is not difficult to imagine how God, at the beginning, when 

* Storr and Flatt's Biblical Theology, p. 240. 
f Buck's Theological Dictionary. 
% Knapp's Theology, Yol. I. p. 501. 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 101 

he established the laws of nature, did so arrange their opera- 
tion as to bring about such results as the exigencies of every 
individual would demand, and at the exact moment desired. 
Human intellect is, indeed, confounded, when it attempts to 
conceive of a foresight so vast as to embrace in a glance the 
history of every*individual of the race, and then so to arrange 
the countless agencies of nature, that every item in the his- 
tory of the numberless millions of our race should be as care- 
fully and exactly provided for as if only one individual were 
concerned. But we are certain that all this is perfectly easy 
to infinite intelligence. To suppose the contrary, is to de- 
stroy the idea of omniscience ; and therefore we are bound 
to believe what we cannot comprehend. 

It will help us to conceive how God might thus arrange 
and adapt the laws of the universe to meet particular exigen- 
cies, if we consider how it is that most events are brought 
about in our experience. We are apt to regard them as de- 
pendent upon a single second cause, or, at most, upon a few 
causes, just because one or two are the immediate antece- 
dents. But how few events are there that have not been 
essentially modified, at least as to the time and manner of 
their occurrence and in intensity, by what may be called lat- 
eral influences ! We see a given cause operating, and we 
are apt to feel that we know what will be its ultimate effect. 
But we forget that every event in the universe has a connec- 
tion with all other events ; that, in fact, the whole series of 
causes in the universe constitutes a plexus, or network, in 
which if you remove one of the fibres, you remove the 
whole. Every occurrence is, indeed, dependent mainly upon 
a leading cause ; but the result may, after all, be prevented, 
or greatly modified, by any other cause. So that, as Bishop 
Butler remarks, " any one thing whatever may, for aught 
9* 



102 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

we know to the contrary, be a necessary condition to any 
other." * 

Conceive of a vast hollow sphere, in which balls of various 
sizes are moving in every direction, and with all degrees of 
velocity. Fixing your eye upon a single ball, you see it 
moving towards a given point, and, if it meet %ith no obstruc- 
tion, you are sure that point will be reached. It may pass 
through its whole course untouched. But when your eyes 
are opened to discern the countless multitude of other balls 
flying through the same sphere, you feel almost sure that it 
will be deflected from its course, and its motion accelerated 
or retarded, by a multitude of collisions ; nor can you pre- 
dict, by any mathematics which the human mind can master, 
what will be the exact course of that single ball. But how 
easy for God to do it ! and how easy for him so to place the 
other balls, and to give them such momentum, as will carry 
the single one to a given point at a given time ! 

Now, this supposition gives us a not unapt representation of 
the manner in which the events of the world of matter and 
of mind are brought about. They are almost never the re- 
sult of a single secondary cause, acting directly and simply, 
but of a great multitude of causes, modifying one another, 
and conspiring to bring out the final development. All these 
agencies were originally ordained and arranged by the Deity, 
in the manner that seemed best to infinite wisdom, which had 
infinite power at command. Can it be that they were put 
into operation without any plan, or with only a general object 
in view ? Who does not see that God might, at the begin- 
ning, have given to these countless forces such degrees of 
strength, and such adjustment and direction, that they would 

* Analogy, Part I. Chap. VII. 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 103 

bring about just such results in the history of every individual 
as would be desirable ? Thus would every case of special 
providence be met as certainly as if he should interfere mi- 
raculously at the moment in each man's life when special 
interposition would be desirable. 

But with such a complex system of second causes in opera- 
tion, it is easy to see how the same object could be accom- 
plished by such a modification of some of those causes by the 
Deity, at any given moment, as would produce the desired 
result. And this might be done out of human view, so that 
man would see only the ordinary operation of nature's laws, 
and, therefore, there would be no miracle ; for any event that 
can be explained by the regular operation of nature's laws, as 
already remarked, is not a miracle. 

To most men these two modes of providing for special 
providences — the one by a disposition of the laws of nature 
in the divine mind from eternity, the other by some change 
effected at the moment by divine interference in the complex 
causes of events — we say, these two modes will seem to 
most persons very unlike. Indeed, they cannot see how*there 
should be any thing special in an event that was provided for 
in the counsels of eternity, and which transpires as the result 
of arrangements then made. In order to make it special, 
they feel as if it were necessary that the Deity should inter- 
pose, in some way or other, at the time of its occurrence, 
just as the mechanic finds it necessary to modify his machine, 
if he wishes to accomplish some specific object not provided 
for by its regular operation. 

Now, we feel confident that such impressions result from 
our limited views ; or rather, from the difficulty which finite 
creatures experience in understanding the mode in which an 
Infinite Being thinks and acts. It is hard to divest ourselves 



104 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

of the idea that, in his processes of thought and action, God 
is altogether such a one as ourselves. But there are certain 
principles, true of the divine mind and divine action, that 
cannot enter at all into human powers and human conduct. 
One is, that no new plan or motive of action can ever enter 
the divine mind ; and, consequently, whatever plans we find 
developed in God's government must have been perfectly 
formed in the counsels of eternity. Another principle is, 
that God never acts except under the guidance of those fixed 
principles which we call law. Hence miracles are brought 
about by fixed laws as much as common events ; that is, in 
the same circumstances we may expect the same miracle. 
The law of miracles does, indeed, differ from all others ; and 
this constitutes a miracle. But to suppose that God ever acts 
without the guidance of a settled principle is to impute to 
him a want of wisdom and character which we should be 
slow to charge upon an eminent man. No less absurd is it 
to suppose the Deity ever to act by the impulse of after 
thoughts, as men do ; or that he ever does any thing which 
he had not, eternal ages since, resolved to do in manner and 
time exactly as it takes place. 

If these are correct positions, what possible difference can 
it make whether we suppose God to have arranged the agen- 
cies of nature at the beginning so as to meet every exigency, 
or to interpose whenever necessary to accomplish specific 
purposes by some new force or law ? Why is not the one 
as special as the other ? If he did in eternity arrange and 
balance the forces of nature in a particular manner, with 
the express design of meeting a particular exigency, what 
matter how many ages intervene between the arrangement 
and the event ? If a miracle was needed at a particular 
moment of human history, and God originally so arranged 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 105 

the universe that the law of miracles should come in just at 
the right moment^ would the event be any the less special 
than if we suppose he stood by at the moment, like a finite 
being, and by his power arrested or counteracted the laws of 
nature ? And the same is true of the. means by which a spe- 
cial providence is brought about. An eternal provision made 
for it shows merely the perfection of the divine plans and 
operations, but takes nothing from its speciality. 

A question may arise in some minds whether such views 
do not make all events special, though such a statement be a 
solecism. For if God has arranged the agencies of his nat- 
ural and moral government so that all events happen just as 
he intended, on what ground is it proper to say that one of 
them is more special than another ? Do they not all meet 
some particular exigency? And what more can any of 
them do ? 

The fallacy of such an objection lies in the assumption that 
all events are equally the objects of God's intention. If it 
were proper to apply such a term to God, we might say that 
there is such a thing as an incidental providence — that is, 
an event which transpires as the necessary result of a certain 
arrangement, but which was not the specific object of such 
arrangement. Perhaps our meaning may be made obvious 
by reference to an illustration already employed. 

We refer to the supposition of a vast hollow sphere, with 
balls flying through it in all directions, and of course often 
interfering with one another. Take a particular ball, and 
admit that God has so adjusted its direction and velocity that, 
in spite of collisions, it shall reach a given spot at a stated 
time. Suppose that thus to reach the point is the grand object 
God has in view in setting the ball in motion. Yet, on its 
way to that point, it might encounter a multitude of other 



106 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

balls ; and each collision would constitute events as distinct 
and as certainly foreseen and determined upon as the final 
one. But they might not accomplish any specific object, and 
be merely incidental to such a system of moving bodies. 
God might, indeed, in infinite wisdom, make them subservient 
to other objects besides the ultimate one ; but they might be 
mere incidental occurrences in such a system, which even 
Omnipotence could not prevent without altering the system. 

Now, have we not here two classes of events, equally the 
result of divine power and wisdom ? Yet one of them is 
special, and accomplishes a definite object ; the other is 
merely incidental, and may or may not be used for a spe- 
cial purpose. Just so can we see how the special prov- 
idence of God may be distinct from common providence, 
although both are equally the work of God. He has so ar- 
ranged the agencies of his government, that certain specific 
objects shall be accomplished infallibly. But through the 
operation of those agencies a multitude of other events are 
brought about incidentally, which, although related to special 
providences, are not such in themselves. 

Another inquiry may arise in reference to some of the 
preceding reasoning. We have endeavored to show that spe- 
cial providences may be the result of an original adjustment 
of the agencies of the natural and moral world, or of direct 
interposition by the Deity out of sight in modifying those 
agencies. Now, the question is, Which of these methods is 
actually employed in the divine government ? Can we deter- 
mine which ? If by special interposition at the moment, is 
not the evidence of such interposition precluded by the very 
supposition we have made ? For the statement is, that the 
interposition must be made out of our sight ; while within 
view, the event seems to be brought about by the ordinary 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 107 

laws of nature, since, if made within sight, it would be mirac- 
ulous. All we can prove, therefore, is, that God can thus 
interpose and modify events within sight, by altering their 
antecedents out of sight ; and this is all that seems necessary 
for the purposes of religion. Hence it is that the Scriptures 
never raise any such questions as this, but simply and boldly 
assert the agency of God in the leading events in the history 
of nations, communities, and individuals. 

From the preceding course of reasoning we think we may 
consider the following positions as established : — 

First, that there are two modes in which divine interposi- 
tion may take place — the one by miracles, and the other by 
special providences. 

By a miraculous providence we mean such a superintend- 
ence over the world as interferes, when desirable, with the 
regular operations of nature within the sphere of human vis- 
ion, and brings about events either in opposition to natural 
laws, or by giving them a greater or less power than in their 
normal state. 

By a special providence we mean an event brought about 
apparently by natural laws, yet in fact the result of some 
special agency on the part of the Deity, either by an original 
arrangement of natural laws, or the subsequent modification 
of second causes which lie beyond man's sphere of vision. 

Secondly, that both these modes of interposition take place 
in accordance with fixed laws or rules of action ; so that there 
is a law of miracles and of special providence, as well as of 
common phenomena. 

Thirdly, that the difference between miracles and special 
providence lies in this, that the former cannot, and the latter 
can, be explained by the laws of nature. 

Fourthly, that special providences may be the result of an 



108 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

original arrangement of the laws of the natural and moral 
world such as to produce special results, or of a direct mod- 
ification of those laws at any time by divine power in some 
of the links of causation out of sight. 

And, finally, that the events are equally special, whether 
the result of an original ordination in the divine mind, or of 
direct modification of natural agencies at the time of their 
occurrence ; nor can we, from the nature of the case, prove 
in which mode, or whether by both modes, divine wisdom 
acts. 

The main question now returns upon us — whether there 
is any evidence of special divine interposition in nature, save 
those which revelation has recorded. All such interpositions 
must, indeed, occur in natural operations, since it is their sus- 
pension or modification that constitutes the interposition ; but 
the inquiry is, Does science, or common history, apart from 
revelation, contain any such records ? 

We waive the inquiry, at the present time, as to the evi- 
dence which uninspired civil history may contain of special 
interposition, both because the field is too wide for the limits 
of this article, and has already been to a considerable extent 
explored. But the records of physical science have not hith- 
erto, to our knowledge, yielded much of this kind of fruit. 
Our object, at this time, is to attempt to gather at least one 
cluster from that field. 

It must be confessed that, as a general fact, physical sci- 
ence seems barren of any evidence of special divine inter- 
ference — presenting us, instead, with operations as uniform 
and unchanging as mathematical laws can make them. Nev- 
ertheless, if we do not greatly mistake, on some portions of 
the vast field we can discover the imprints of special and 
miraculous providence. 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 109 

We shall speak first of special providence, but only in a 
brief manner. 

From the nature of the case it might be presumed that we 
should need a revelation to show that God had originally 
arranged, or directly modified, natural agencies so as to meet 
exigencies in the case of individuals or communities. For, as 
man sees it, such providence seems to be brought about by 
unmodified natural operations. It is hardly sufficient to prove 
special providence to find that great wisdom is shown in con- 
triving and adjusting the laws and agencies of nature so as 
to meet the necessities of the animate creation. We want 
the proof that those laws and agencies have been so arranged 
and modified as to meet particular exigencies, and with those 
exigencies specially present in the divine mind. For all the 
purposes of religious faith, it is sufficient to show that God 
can do this ; and therefore we need not expect that nature 
will offer many examples which clearly show it to have been 
done. But believers in special providence suppose that they 
can find proof in their own experience, or that of others, 
that God has thus interposed either to bless or punish them. 
When they perceive that various causes have conspired — 
causes, it may be, both remote and undesirable — to bring 
about a certain result, they call it a special providence. We 
know that we need to be slow and cautious in drawing such 
inferences ; but not unfrequently the evidence is so clear and 
decided, that not to do it would be hurtful scepticism. We 
will mention one or two analogous cases in nature. 

It is no longer a conjecture, but a settled fact, that our 
globe has been the seat of several distinct economies of ani- 
mal and vegetable life ; that whole races, if not over the whole 
globe at once, yet over wide districts, have become extinct, 
and been succeeded by new families ; and the new species 
10 



110 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

have been quite different from the old, requiring new condi- 
tions as to location, climate, and food. Now, in every in- 
stance yet known to us, the new races have been met by 
conditions exactly adapted to their wants. And this has taken 
place although the state of the globe has been one of slow 
but constant flux, both from the escape of its internal heat, 
the vertical movements of continents, and the action of vol- 
canoes and water. When we consider how delicate a bal- 
ancing of these and a multitude of other agencies would be 
requisite to accomplish such an object, how many causes 
must have been adjusted and made to converge to a given 
point through a long series of ages, it does seem to us that 
this case should be regarded as something beyond a mere 
wise and benevolent ordination of nature's laws, and as a 
special adaptation foreseen and provided for by the Deity, 
either by an original adjustment of natural laws, or by their 
subsequent modification, so as to bring the case fairly within 
the definition of a special providence. If any think that, by 
thus regarding a case of this kind, we should include all 
examples of wise adaptation as special providences, we can 
only say that there certainly is a difference that should be 
recognized between cases of this sort, which seem to have 
been the special object of divine wisdom and intention, and 
those incidental events which result from the adjustments 
necessary to bring about the special events. 

But the records of science furnish us with another class 
of examples in nature, still more indicative of a special prov- 
idence. They are cases in which complicated causes have 
operated through vast periods of duration anterior to man's 
existence, or even anterior, to that of scarcely any of the 
more perfect animals, in order to provide for the .wants and 
happiness of those animals, especially of man. Laws, appar- 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. Ill 

ently conflicting and irregular in their action, have been so 
controlled, and directed, and made to conspire^ as to provide 
for the wants of civilized life untold ages before man's exist- 
ence. In those early times, vast forests, for instance, might 
have been seen growing along the shores of estuaries ; and 
these, dying, were buried deep in the mud, there to accumu- 
late thick beds of vegetable matter over large areas ; and 
this, by a long series of changes, was at length converted into 
coal. This could be of no use whatever till man's existence, 
nor even then, till civilization had taught him how to employ 
this substance for his comfort, and for a great variety of 
useful arts. Look, for instance, at the small island of Great 
Britain. At this day 15,000 steam engines are driven by 
means of coal, with a power equal to that of 2,000,000 of 
men ; and thus is put into operation machinery equalling the 
unaided power of 300,000,000 or 400,000,000 of men. The 
influence thence emanating reaches the remotest portions of 
the globe, and tends mightily to the civilization and happiness 
of the race. And is all this an accidental effect of nature's 
laws ? Is it not rather a striking example of special prospec- 
tive providence ? What else but divine power, intent upon a 
specific purpose, could have so directed the countless agen- 
cies employed through so many ages as to bring about such 
marvellous results ? 

Or take an example on a still more gigantic scale. It is 
already ascertained that, by the same process of vegetable 
growth and decay in the hoary past, thick beds of coal have 
been accumulated in the rocks of the United States over an 
area of more than 200,000 square miles, and probably many 
more remain to be discovered. Yet, upon a moderate calcu- 
lation, those already known contain more than 1100 cubic 
miles of coal ; one mile of which, at the rate it is now used, 



112 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

would furnish the country with coal for a thousand years ; so 
that a million of years will not exhaust our supply. What an 
incalculable increase of the use of steam, and a consequent 
increase of population and general prosperity, does such a 
treasure of fuel open before this country ! If our numbers 
should become only as many to the square mile as in Great 
Britain, or 223, there is room enough this side of the Rocky 
Mountains for 500,000,000 ; and including the western slope of 
those mountains, for 700,000,000 ; equal almost to the present 
population of the globe. And yet all that has been thus far 
seen in this country, and all that is in prospect, is only an ac- 
cidental, or incidental, event in his theology who admits no 
special providence in nature. We are not of that number, for 
we not only believe that God, through vast cycles of duration, 
directed and controlled the agencies of nature, so as to bury 
in the bosom of this continent the means of future civilization 
and prosperity, but that a strong obligation hence results for 
every one living here to throw all his energies into the work 
of making this land a glory and a blessing to the nations. 

Let us go once more on the wings of imagination back to 
that remote period of our world's history, when most of its 
present continents were beneath the ocean. As we hover 
over the waters, we see them agitated by internal forces, and 
now and then smoke and ashes, and it may be flames, issue 
from their surface. Submarine volcanoes are pouring forth 
their contents ; and could we look beneath the troubled waves 
we should probably see beds of various kinds thrown out by 
the volcano, spreading themselves along the bottom. Among 
these beds we should probably see gypsum and common salt. 
But what has this to do with special providence ? Let the 
ages roll on and we shall see. By and by that ocean's bed 
is slowly lifted above the waves. Those waves, during its 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 113 

emergence, cover it with a soil adapted to vegetation. Man 
at length fixes his dwelling upon it. He discovers, among 
the exposed strata, the gypsum and salt which he so greatly 
needs, and which by ingenuity and industry he can extract. 
And thereby can he greatly multiply his comforts and his 
numbers. 

In like manner might we go back and trace out the origin 
of the various ores, the marbles, the granites, the porphyries, 
and other mineral treasures so important to an advanced state 
of the arts, and of civilization and happiness. And we should 
find them originating in agencies equally remote, equally cha- 
otic and irregular, and seemingly as much removed from all 
connection with man's long subsequent appearance. But it 
does seem to us that, during the long series of preparatory 
agencies, we can every where see the finger of God's special 
providence pointing to the final result. 

But we turn now to inquire, in the second place, what evi- 
dence we have, in the records of science, of God's miracu- 
lous providence ? And we take the position that, in the nat- 
ural history of our globe, we meet with phenomena explicable 
only by miraculous intervention. 

Not to speak of the earliest condition of the world, which 
hypothesis alone can describe, let us follow back its history 
only to the time when legitimate theory shows it to have been 
in a molten state. That its internal parts are still in that con- 
dition, and that its now solid crust was once so, seem to us to 
be proved by fair inference from facts ; and such is the opin- 
ion of almost all scientific men. Think of it now in that 
condition — a shoreless ocean of fire. It is not difficult to 
conceive how, by the radiation of its heat, a solid crust should 
form, and at length the water condense upon its surface, while 
volcanic force should form such inequalities as would make 
10* 



114 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

beds for the oceans, and elevations for continents. Nay, by 
the action of the waves and the atmosphere, soils might be 
accumulated upon the surface. But, in spite of all that 
merely natural operations could do, what a scene of utter des- 
olation and loneliness would it . present ! That wonderful 
power which we call life, and the still more mysterious prin- 
ciple of mind, would be absent. How, then, were the num- 
berless forms of organism, animal and vegetable, possessed 
of life and instinct, and some of them with powers of intellect, 
— how were these introduced ? If miraculous interposition 
be not necessary here, we know of no exigency in which it 
can be ; and we may as well dismiss the idea from our phi- 
losophy and our theology. Just see what the problem is : 
nothing less than to take a world of rock, more or less com- 
minuted by water, and to convert it into essentially such a 
world as the present ; to take a world utterly dead and deso- 
late, and spread through its atmosphere, its waters, and its 
solid surface, ten thousand forms of life and beauty. Has 
nature any hidden inherent power to do all this ? Why, then, 
can we not lay our finger upon a single manifestation of cre- 
ative power in nature in these latter times ? O, that power is 
the prerogative of the Deity alone. Who shall have the bold- 
ness, and even the impiety, to transfer to blind, unintelligent 
law, what demands infinite intelligence and infinite power, 
miraculously exerted ? 

And yet there have always been men who have done this ; 
not, indeed, in the bold language in which we have stated the 
principle. Yet some of them have confessed that their object 
was to sustain atheism. Others have said merely that they 
meant to show that every thing, even the creation of animals 
and plants, was accomplished through the inherent self-creat- 
ing power of law ; but they left the origin of the laws to each 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 115 

one's own convictions. Nay, some have attempted to recon- 
cile this creation by law, not merely with theism, but with a 
belief in revelation. This is the form in which this hypothe- 
sis has clothed itself in our own day. In such a dress it has 
ventured forth from the philosopher's study, where it has so 
long been isolated, and become incorporated with the fashion- 
able literature of the day. And it has enough of plausibility 
about it to make it popular with men who have only a gen- 
eral, but not a minute acquaintance with science, and who, 
afraid to live without some religious system, are yet unwilling 
to adopt one that brings God near. This is not the place to 
discuss such views. We will only say, that true philosophy 
must reject this hypothesis ; first, because the facts adduced 
to sustain it, when scrutinized, are too few ; and secondly, 
because for every fact seemingly in its favor, a thousand tes- 
tify against it. Accordingly, all the great living and recently 
deceased masters of physical science reject it. Does it ap- 
peal to anatomy and physiology ? Cuvier, Owen, and Car- 
penter cry out against it. Does it evoke the aid of chemistry ? 
Berzelius, Turner and Liebig see its shallowness. Does it 
call on zoology for aid ? Agassiz and Ehrenberg can refute 
its claims. Does it search the archives of geology for sup- 
port ? Sedgwick, Miller, Lyell, and D'Orbigny can show how 
certainly they will fail there. Or, finally, does it appeal to 
botany ? Hooker and Lindley, Torrey, and Gray, know that 
it will certainly glean nothing to sustain it on that flowery 
field. The fact is, it is only here and there that a second- 
rate naturalist will sympathize at all with such dreamy views. 
But there is another, and perhaps a more plausible mode 
of evading the general argument for the miraculous introduc- 
tion of organic life upon our globe. When we descend into 
the rocks a certain distance, say six or eight miles, we reach 



116 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

those that contain no remains of animals or plants, and show 
the metamorphic action of heat, by which they have been 
partially or wholly melted. Now, most geologists consider 
this horizon as the starting place of life on our globe, and that 
the rocks below it were formed before the existence of animals 
or plants. But some — and they eminent geologists — main- 
tain that these lower rocks did once contain organic remains, 
which have been obliterated by the influence of the intense 
heat, and that, therefore, we cannot tell when life first ap- 
peared on the globe. For aught we know, these metamor- 
phisms may have been going on forever. 

A few years ago it might have been difficult to prove di- 
rectly that this hypothesis is false, though the history of the 
rocks afforded many presumptions against it. But the re- 
searches of the last few years among the oldest of the fossi- 
liferous rocks have furnished its full refutation. For it has 
been ascertained, that both in Great Britain and in this coun- 
try, stratified rocks, several miles in thickness, exist below 
those containing fossils, and yet retain so much of a mechan- 
ical character, and are so partially metamorphosed, that if 
ever animals and plants existed in them, they would not have 
been obliterated. The metamorphic action has not been suf- 
ficient to melt down the pebbles and fragments originally de- 
posited, and therefore not great enough to destroy the harder 
parts of organic beings, had they been present. Here, then, 
we have an indisputable horizon of life, below which there is 
no reason to suppose it ever to have existed. 

But even if we admit that the apparent is not the real ho- 
rizon of life in the rocks, there is another scientific fact that 
proves it did once begin, however far back we may suppose 
the metamorphic cycles to have extended. In other words, 
we can prove that there was a time when life did not exist on 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 117 

this globe, and consequently a time when it was first intro- 
duced. And this is the argument : — 

If any body, such as the earth, having a certain tempera- 
ture, be surrounded by a medium, or by other bodies, with a 
lower temperature, it is certain, from the laws of heat, that 
the warmer body will continue to give off its heat to the colder 
ones, till at length they will be brought to the same tempera- 
ture, unless the higher temperature of the central body is 
maintained by the perpetual generation of heat within itself. 
Now, we know that at present the earth is placed in exactly 
this condition ; for it can be proved that the temperature of 
the space surrounding it is at least fifty-eight degrees below 
zero. Consequently heat must be continually given off into 
the planetary spaces ; and unless there be some internal source 
of heat, the earth must be growing colder. When did this 
cooling process commence ? Those who believe an indefinite 
series of organic beings to have existed on the globe, will not 
surely fix a beginning, because that would be yielding the 
main point in their hypothesis. Yet it is certain that, if the 
earth has been cooling for an indefinite period, the time must 
have been when its surface was too hot for animals and plants 
to live upon it ; nay, when it was in a melted state. There 
must have been a time, therefore, when the first animals and 
plants were commanded into existence by the miraculous fiat 
of Jehovah. For the idea that the earth possesses within 
itself a power for the indefinite renewal of its heat as it es- 
capes, finds no support in philosophy. We can conceive how 
heat might be produced while combustible substances were 
burning, but we know of no possible way by which an indefi- 
nite supply could be evolved. 

We are unable to conceive how any philosophic mind can 
escape the force of such reasoning as this, which natural the- 



118 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

ology brings forward to prove a period in the history of this 
world when it was destitute of organic races. But this is 
not the only argument which science can offer to prove mi- 
raculous interposition in nature. A second proof, quite inde- 
pendent of the first, is found in the fact that the earth has 
been the seat of several nearly independent systems of life, 
since animals and plants were first introduced. A certain 
group, wisely adapted to one another, and to the state of the 
air, the waters, and the surface, as well as to the food and the 
temperature, have flourished for a long period ; and, as some 
of these circumstances have changed, they have either grad- 
ually died out, or have been simultaneously destroyed by some 
catastrophe ; so that few if any species have survived. Af- 
terwards new races have been introduced, exactly fitted to the 
altered condition of things. These also, after flourishing long, 
have disappeared, and another and another system has suc- 
ceeded, until we can distinctly trace five economies previous 
to the existing races. Many writers say that the number of 
systems has been much greater ; and, were we to limit our 
views to portions of the earth, it is undoubtedly true. But 
we can show that all the races, animal and vegetable, have 
been changed at least five times, over the whole globe ; and 
five such changes are as good for the argument as five hun- 
dred. For though we can see how, by natural operations, 
organic beings can be destroyed, yet what but infinite wisdom 
and power can re people the lifeless waste ? This question 
we have considered under our first argument, and hope we 
have shown that nothing but miraculous power could have 
done it. 

But there are some peculiarities that attended the introduc- 
tion of successive races, which deserve notice. From the 
nature of the case, the world must have been preparing, by 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 119 

the reduction of its temperature and increased productiveness 
of its soil, for a greater variety of organic beings, and for 
those of more delicate and perfect organization. And we find 
that, at the successive epochs of creation, there was a corre- 
spondent increase of the higher races, u a gradual ascent to- 
wards a higher type of being," * in connection with " a grad- 
ual improvement in the style and character of the dwelling 
place of organized beings." f This is called the doctrine of 
progression ; and it obviously points to a beginning, not only 
of organic races, but of the present system of inorganic na- 
ture, and requires miraculous divine interposition. 

It is well known, however, that at least one distinguished 
geologist takes opposite views of this subject, and maintains 
M that the existing causes of change in the animate and inan- 
imate world may be similar, not only in kind, but in degree, 
to those which have prevailed during many successive modi- 
fications of the earth's crust." This is called the doctrine of 
uniformity, or non-progression. It is not intended by its able 
advocate to teach the world's eternity, although it has that 
aspect ; nor does it conflict with the idea of miraculous inter- 
vention in the creation of animals and plants ; for it admits 
that " the succession of living beings has been continued, not 
by the transmutation of species, but by the introduction into 
the earth, from time to time, of new plants and animals ; and 
that each assemblage of new species must have been admi- 
rably fitted for the new states of the globe as they arose, or 
they would not have increased, and multiplied, and endured 
for indefinite periods. J 

Even the doctrine of non-progression, then, is consistent 
with miraculous interpositions in nature. Much more does 

* Sedgwick. f Hugh Miller. 

X Lyell's Manual of Elementary Geology, p. 501. 



120 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

the doctrine of progression demand it. And we confess our- 
selves compelled to subscribe to the latter doctrine. So far 
as inorganic nature is concerned, we have already assigned a 
reason for this opinion. Perhaps the evidence from organic 
nature is not as strong, because we cannot say certainly how 
many of the more perfect animals will yet be discovered in 
the older rocks. But so far as we do know, the progression 
has been very decided. More than 24,000 species of animals 
have been dug out of the rocks, 700 of which are mamma- 
lia or quadrupeds. But 695 of these occur within 2000 or 
3000 feet of the surface, while in all the 54,000 feet below, 
only five species have been found. Birds, the next less per- 
fect class of animals, are scarcely more abundant in these 
lower rocks. Reptiles are more numerous, and extend to a 
greater depth, while the fishes, the least perfect of all, are 
still more abundant, and are found nearly at the bottom of the 
series. And the same increase of numbers would be found 
were we to descend still lower on the scale of animals. All 
this accords with the doctrine of progression, and so do the 
facts respecting plants. Now, making the largest allowance 
for future discoveries, it seems hardly possible that it will ever 
appear, that as large a proportion of the higher orders of ani- 
mals and plants existed in the earlier periods of our globe as 
at present. 

But we hasten to offer one more proof of God's miracu- 
lous interposition furnished by the records of science. It is 
the creation of man. All observation teaches us that he was 
one of the last of the animals that was placed upon the earth. 
In vain do we search through the six miles of solid rocks that 
lie piled upon one another, commencing with the lowest, for 
any trace of man. And it is not till we come into the upper- 
most formation, — we mean the alluvial, — nay, not till we get 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 121 

almost to the top of that, merely in the loose soil that is 
spread over the surface, that we find his bones. And yet 
these, formed of the same materials as the bones of other 
animals, would have been as certainly preserved as theirs in 
the lower rocks had he existed there. The conclusion is irre- 
sistible, and it is acquiesced in by all experienced geologists, 
that man did not exist as a contemporary of the animals found 
in the rocks. At least five vast periods of time, with their 
numerous yet distinct groups of organic beings, passed over 
this globe before the appearance of man. This is not a 
dreamy, hypothetical conclusion, but a simple matter of fact, 
which has been scrutinized with great care, and by some un- 
friendly to revelation, who would gladly have found it other- 
wise. But no fossil man or works of man have been discov- 
ered below alluvium, (in which we include drift;) nor would 
any really scientific man risk his reputation by maintaining 
the existence of the human species earlier than the alluvial 
period. 

What an astonishing exhibition does this scientific fact bring 
before us ! Suppose we could explain by chemical and or- 
ganic laws how the inferior animals were gradually developed 
from one another in the successive periods of our world's his- 
tory. Yet here we have the phenomenon of a being intro- 
duced at once, superior somewhat in organic structure to the 
other animals, but raised immeasurably above them all by his 
lofty intellectual and moral powers — a being destined to take 
the supreme control of all inferior natures, and, so far as need 
be, to subject them all to his will ; and, in fact, to convert the 
elements into servants to do his pleasure. The anatomist can, 
indeed, describe his organization ; the physiologist can point 
out the functions of his organs ; and the zoologist can assign 
him his rank at the head of animate creation ; but how is the 
11 



122 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

psychologist baffled when he attempts to unravel the wonders 
of his spiritual powers ! and the theologian, when he looks 
into the depths of his moral and immortal nature ! And did 
it demand no miracle to bring such a being upon the stage, 
and fit him exactly to his condition ? What greater miracle 
does even revelation disclose ? Admit, if you choose, that 
all other events on the globe — even the creation of all other 
organic beings — might have been accomplished by ordinary 
laws ; yet, so long as the great fact of man's creation stands 
out so conspicuously on our world's history, we need nothing 
more to establish, beyond cavil, the reality of divine interpo- 
sition in nature. God has impressed his own signet so deeply 
upon this last act of creation, that scepticism dare not directly 
attempt to deface it. And this grandest miracle of nature is 
also the greatest of revelation. It stands up a lofty and im- 
movable rock, amid the ocean of existence., to arrest and beat 
back the waves of unbelief, and to reflect the glories of divine 
power and wisdom. 

We might add other arguments corroborative of the same 
principle. But if the three which we have adduced, inde- 
pendent and cumulative as they are, do not satisfy, we despair 
of producing conviction. We may be laboring under some 
hallucination on this subject ; but we cannot see why the evi- 
dence of special divine interpositions in nature is not as clear 
and decided as in revelation. The only difference seems to 
be, that in the one case we depend on the testimony of living 
wituesses ; in the other, upon the conclusions of science. But 
if such interpositions have been made in nature, it is easy to 
see how important are the bearings of the fact both upon the- 
ology and upon piety. 

See, for example, how the miracles of nature take away all 
presumption against the miracles of revelation. We all know 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 123 

that this has been a favorite point of attack both in ancient 
and especially in modern times. The grand argument has 
been, that miracles, being contrary to all experience and all 
analogy, cannot be proved by human testimony. We remem- 
ber the metaphysical network woven by Hume on this sub- 
ject, which he fancied too strong for any Christian champion 
to break through ; and we know, too, how many professed 
Christians at this day assume in their theology that miracles 
are only ingenious myths. Little did these men imagine what 
a record on this subject lay concealed within the stony leaves 
of the earth's crust, or that the hammer of the miner and 
the geologist would bring facts to light that would sweep away 
at once all their ingenious quibbles. So long as Christians 
could meet them only with abstract reasoning they felt strong. 
But now we lay open the solid rocks, and show them there 
miracles of creation as wonderful as the miracles of revela- 
tion, and of them, the creation of man, perhaps the most 
remarkable of all, is the same in both records. We show 
them that interference with nature's usual course has been a 
rule of God's government from the remotest times ; and the 
conclusion is irresistible, that what God has done during the 
earlier economies of our world he will be likely to repeat 
during the human era, should his purposes require it. 

Not less effectually does this subject remove all improb- 
ability from the doctrine of special providence in the case of 
individuals and communities. Nay, the facts which we have 
presented form an a fortiori argument for the exercise of 
such a providence. For if we find proof registered on the 
rocks, that God has taken care to adapt the state of the world 
wisely and benevolently to the nature and wants of the lower 
animals that have peopled its changing surface, and prospec- 
tively and specially for the comfort and happiness of man as 



124 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

a race, we may with still stronger confidence presume that he 
will see to it that the exigencies of individuals of that superior 
race will be taken care of. Henceforth, then, when we wit- 
ness the exhumation, from the quarries, of the strange beings 
that once occupied the earth, let us not regard them as mere 
objects of an idle curiosity, but as so many arguments to show 
us that God will take care of our individual interests ; and 
when we wander through the deep-seated coal mine, or any 
other excavation where human industry is extracting mineral 
treasures to advance civilization and happiness, let our faith 
gather thence an argument for implicit trust in that prov- 
idence which, in the depths of past ages, buried up these de- 
posits for the special use of civilized man. How delightful 
for the Christian thus to find food to nourish his faith, where 
most men see only rugged rocks, and think only of accumu- 
lating wealth ! 

So, too, this subject takes away all presumption against the 
doctrine of special divine influence on the human mind ; for 
if God would work miracles to accomplish his purposes in the 
natural world, much more ought we to expect that he would 
exert those influences upon the human mind which are not 
inconsistent with free agency, and are essential to prepare it 
for a higher state of existence. This he can do without a 
miracle ; and it is an exigency which the whole history of his 
providence leads us to expect will be met in this manner. 

See, too, what a new and interesting argument may be de- 
rived from this subject for the divine existence. The usual 
argument, that from design, requires us to prove, or assume, 
a beginning to the matter of the universe ; and here the athe- 
ist, hiding himself in the fogs of the doctrine of chance, and 
an eternal series of things, can make a quite formidable show 
of argument. But admitting miracles in the modifications of 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 125 

matter, we need not carry our thoughts back beyond those 
modifications, and may leave the question of the origin of 
matter untouched, without any injury to theism. We thus 
get rid of a multitude of dreamy abstractions which have so 
long enveloped the argument for the divine existence with a 
mist. We force the atheist out of the obscurities of the de- 
ductive, into the clear light of the inductive, philosophy. We 
bring the subject down from the airy region of metaphysics, 
and place it on the firm ground of common sense. 

This subject, also, may be made to subserve another pur- 
pose, no less important It aims a deadly blow at all those 
subtle systems of religion founded on the supposed unending 
uniformity of nature's laws, and their inherent power to ac- 
complish all the changes of the organic and inorganic worlds. 
Some of these systems, as we have remarked in another con- 
nection, admit that there might be a Deity to ordain these 
laws originally; but that is a question of no great importance, 
since it is the laws themselves, and not divine intervention, 
that have taken the world in the state of nebulous vapor, con- 
densed it into a sphere, brought in at first a few species of 
animals and plants of the simplest organization, in the state 
of monads, and from them gradually developed all the higher 
forms of life by the force of external circumstances and an 
internal tendency to improvement, until., at lengthy as the last 
act of the drama, man, in the form of the negro race, was 
evolved from the semi-quadrupedal orang, and, still pressing 
onward, has assumed the loftier character of the Caucasian. 

Now, either the entire history of our globe, which has been 
dug out of its stony archives, is false, or this hypothesis is 
untrue. The history is based on facts, gathered from a thou- 
sand fields, widely scattered, yet all teaching the same lesson ; 
the hypothesis is speculation merely, springing from a few 
11* 



128 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

supposed facts, half buried in fog and twilight. Which shall 
we adopt ? Philosophy cries out, responsive to the voice of 
nature, It is God, and not mere law ; an infinitely wise and 
powerful God, the God who doeth wonders, whose miraculous 
interpositions are recorded in the volume of nature, as well 
as in the volume of revelation. 

Finally, this subject identifies the God of nature with the 
God of revelation. We greatly mistake the general senti- 
ments of mankind, if they do not feel that the Deity recog- 
nized by science, is a quite different being from the Jehovah 
of the Scriptures. The first is regarded, indeed, as infinitely 
perfect, but as distant and uninterested in human affairs, 
binding the iron chain of law around all created things. But 
the God of revelation is an infinite Father, who is ever near 
his children, watching their every step, with an ear ever open 
and quick to hear their cry for help, and with a heart of 
boundless love to sympathize with them in all their trials. It 
is these different aspects in which the Deity is presented, that 
makes the religious man jealous of those views of theology 
which science offers ; and it is because he does not wish to 
feel that God is so near, and so observant of his actions and 
thoughts, that often the scientific man is disgusted with the 
God of revelation. But this subject shows us the same God 
in both dispensations. He who so often interposed mirac- 
ulously for his ancient chosen people, and providentially, at 
least, for the followers of Christ in every age, — that same 
God, as modern science informs us, has shown the same 
watchful care over the material creation in all ages, and 
specially interposed, whenever necessary, for the welfare and 
happiness of all sentient beings. And herein does the pious 
heart recognize in the God whose glory is seen in the heavens, 
and who has filled this lower world with beauty, the same 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 127 

infinite Father, whose wisdom and mercy shine so gloriously 
in the plan of redemption. 

If these views be correct, do they not give to the works of 
creation a double charm to the Christian heart ? And do they 
not suggest the inquiry, whether those who preach the gospel 
might not make much more use than they do of natural reli- 
gion ? If we mistake not, there is a prevalent jealousy of 
facts and .principles derived from nature ; just because those 
facts have been sometimes perverted to throw discredit upon 
revelation. But we have long been satisfied that, from the 
fields of natural science, efficient support may be derived to 
some of the peculiar, and to the carnal mind the most offen- 
sive, doctrines of revelation. We have brought forward, in 
this article, only a single cluster of the fruit from that field. 
But other and richer clusters, we doubt not, would reward the 
search of abler minds. See what such men as Chalmers and 
Harris have done ; and let all, who now preach or who mean 
to preach the gospel, follow in their steps, and we doubt not 
that Christians, instead of being fearful that science and rev- 
elation are in conflict, would find that they sustain and illus- 
trate each other, and that the heart of piety might be warmed 
at the shrine of nature, as well as at the cross ; for, in an im- 
portant sense, the cross may be found in nature, and nature 
in the cross. 

But, after all, the tendency of the age is to substitute that 
which is artificial for that which is natural. Hence it is, that 
the Christian passes with indifference the works of God, 
while his soul rouses and his eye brightens when it turns to 
the works of man. O, what a magnificent temple it is which 
Jehovah has made our dwelling place ! It is a vast whisper- 
ing gallery, echoing and reechoing with his name and his 
praise. How much do they lose who always have its vast 



128 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

dome above them, and its lofty columns around them, and yet 
hear none of those whispers or echoes, nor feel any of the 
inspiration of the place, but whose supreme attention is de- 
voted to " the gewgaws and trinkets, the punpet shows and 
histrionic feats, which fashion, and ambition, and sensuality 
have surreptitiously introduced there ! " How insensible to 
every noble impulse has his heart become who has neither 
eye nor ear for the charms of Nature ! For she is the kind 
mother of us all. In her arms were we cradled, on her 
bosom were we nursed, and her voice falls on every well- 
attuned ear like the music of heaven. It is indeed the mu- 
sic of heaven ; for Nature's harmonies are but a transcript of 
the divine perfections, and her voice is, therefore, the voice 
of God. 

We fear, however, that such sentiments do not accord with 
the experience of most Christians. They look upon the sys- 
tem of nature as a field well adapted to regale the fancy, 
gratify the taste, and delightfully exercise the understanding, 
but not to warm the heart and feed the spiritual taste of piety. 
Creation is, indeed, a splendid temple, but it is cold and life- 
less. No sacred fire burns upon the altar ; no crucified 
Redeemer is there to fix the attention and absorb the affec- 
tions ; no Spirit of grace speaks gently to the soul. The 
religion of sentimentalism may flourish by communion with 
nature ; but the piety that saves the soul and blesses the 
world must seek for its nourishment at the foot of the cross. 

True, it is at the cross we must learn how to be saved, and 
how to save others. But because we cleave with supreme 
affection to the God of redemption, must we abjure the God 
of nature ? If it feed our devotion to muse on the character 
of that God who devised and executed the marvellous plan of 
redemption by a long series of miracles in human history, 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 129 

shall it afford no nourishment to our new-born nature to find 
that the Author of this vast universe has interposed, in a no 
less special and wonderful manner, to fit up this world that it 
might become a proper theatre for the display of redeeming 
love ? Is there not something wrong in our hearts, if we do 
not recognize the same wonder-working, beneficent God in 
the natural as in the moral world ? Creation and redemption 
are but parts of one great system, and we may not disjoin 
what God has united ; neither may we depreciate one part of 
the scheme in order to exalt the other. We will try to unite 
them in our experience, as well as in our judgment. Then 
shall we see the same great truths imprinted upon nature 
which shine forth in redemption. Then shall all our com- 
munion with nature serve only to strengthen our love of the 
cross, while the more powerfully we are constrained by the 
love of Christ, the more delightfully and profitably shall we 
wander among the works of God. O, how meagre is his en- 
joyment of creation's beauties who looks at them with only 
the eye of the cold, calculating philosopher, or the mere en- 
thusiasm of the poet, but not with a Christian's heart ! It is 
only such a heart that can vivify the scenes of the natural 
world with the presence of God. Nature has charms, in- 
deed, for the mere man of taste, and of philosophy. But it 
is not till we bring in the religious element, that the affection 
becomes such as God would have it, a pure and a sanctifying 
emotion. 

It is no wonder that such a love as this should be a deep 
fountain of happiness in every condition of life. It does not, 
like almost all earthly affections, become weaker with ad- 
vancing life, when the pressure of cares, disappointments, and ' 
the infirmities of old age come upon us. The man may be- 
come weary of the world, and be deserted by it. Feeble 



130 SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 

health may infuse wormwood into the common pleasures of 
life ; treachery and ingratitude may convert professed friends 
into enemies, and pierce his heart with many a pang ; and 
old age, with its failing senses and failing powers, may deaden 
his sensibilities to almost every thing else ; but if in early life 
a religious love of nature has taken possession of his soul, he 
will ever find it a sweet solace in the hour of desertion and 
bereavement ; and, even amid the frosts of old age, the sacred 
flame, less bright only than his immortal hopes, shall spread a 
sweet light along his dark passage to the grave. 

Such a view of nature as this was taken by the writers of 
the Bible. The labored distinctions which we make between 
common and miraculous events were unknown to them. In 
every event they saw and joyfully recognized God's hand ; 
and hence it so often happens that the sentence which begins 
with praise to the God of nature ends with ascriptions of 
glory to the Redeemer. 

Nor is this all ; for these same views of this subject are 
taken in heaven. For the redeemed from among men, as 
they stand upon the sea of glass, and sing the song of Moses 
and the Lamb, exclaim, " Great and marvellous are thy 
works, Lord God Almighty" Yet these ransomed ones are 
ever ready to join in what seems the common chorus of 
heaven : " Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto 
Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever 
and ever." In heaven, therefore, at least, will the God whom 
science describes be identified with the God of redemption. 
Would that it were so on earth ! It will be, when educated 
men, especially ministers of the gospel, shall have fully de- 
veloped the harmonies between nature and revelation. Here, 
then, is an object, second only to that of the personal salva- 
tion of men, inviting the labors of those who go forth, after 



SPECIAL DIVINE INTERPOSITIONS IN NATURE. 131 

long years of preparation, from our theological seminaries, 
burning with the desire to do what they can for the good of 
man and the glory of God. The field is open and inviting, 
and the ripening grain abundant. May those who take the 
sickle have a large share in so noble a work, and late in life 
return, bringing their sheaves with them. 



THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED WITH 
THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 



Ladies and Gentlemen : The whole number of works, 
original and reprinted, that were published in the United 
States during the year ending with June, 1834, was 623. Of 
these, 126, or about one fifth, were novels and tales. In 
Great Britain, 1112 works were published in the year 1833 ; 
of which 71, or about one fifteenth, were novels and tales. 
In France, during the same year, 7011 works were issued ; 
of which 355, or about one twentieth, were novels and tales. 

I have not been able to obtain a complete correspondent 
statement for any year subsequent to 1834. The following 
numbers, however, from the American Publishers' Circular 
for April, 1856, show a great increase o£ works of fiction. 
" In all departments, except that of fiction," says Mr. Norton, 
" there were published in this country, in the year 1855, 
about 800 different works ; adding for the new and old novels 
that owed birth or resuscitation to this year, the new issues 
will reach, in round numbers, to two thousand." This makes 
the works of fiction three fifths of the whole. 

These numbers afford some criterion of the taste of the 
reading part of the community in the countries specified. 
And what I wish particularly to be noticed at this time is, the 
much greater demand in this country for works of fiction 

(132) 



THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE AND ROMANCE. 133 

than in Great Britain or France. Were I to include poetry 
in the list, however, it would swell the works of imagination 
in France to one ninth of the whole, and in Great Britain to 
one seventh ; while the poems published in this country during 
the same time were not numerous enough to alter the propor- 
tion above stated. But it is to novels and tales that I wish to 
confine my attention. For very few of the injurious effects 
supposed to result from romances can be charged upon poe- 
try, especially if it be not read in connection with romances. 

I think I may safely draw the inference, from the facts 
stated, that our countrymen show a very strong predilection 
for a light and fictitious literature. And I might add other 
evidence, were it needful. It would be shown in the register 
of every circulating library, as it is in almost every public 
original exhibition in the college and the academy. Young 
men, in such a case, will select those subjects in which they 
feel the most interest ; and how much more common is it, on 
such occasions, to hear discussed the character and merits of 
writers who address chiefly the fancy, than those who develop 
the substantial principles of accurate science and philosophy ! 
It is seen, also, in the character of a large part of our peri- 
odicals, which their editors scarcely dare send forth to the 
public, if not set off with one or two original tales. Except- 
ing a few business newspapers in our larger towns, most of 
our hebdomadals also must be adapted in the same way to the 
public taste ; and the amorous story often stands in singular jux- 
taposition with the solemn realities of practical religion in the 
adjoining column. But the taste of all classes must be suited.* 

* Yet it would be but an act of justice to readers that the motto for such 
newspapers should be, in the words of Burns, — 

" Perhaps it may turn out a song, 
Perhaps turn out a sermon." 

12 



134 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

And last, though not least, our religious literature must be 
clothed in the drapery of fiction, or it will be passed by as 
old-fashioned and uninteresting ; while the latest religious 
romance will be seen occupying a conspicuous place upon the 
centre table. Nor will the devoted Christian — devoted, at 
least, to this kind of reading — suffer sleep to close his eyes, 
till it has been read through, and the enchanting story, if 
not the religion of the book, is deeply lodged in his memory. 
But it is not my object at this time to go into a detailed 
exposure of the evils of novel reading. Suffice it to say, that 
when the father learns that his son, who is in a course of 
public education, has become devoted to this kind of literature, 
he abandons the hope that he will ever rise higher as a scholar 
than to become a writer of tales for some newspaper or peri- 
odical, or possibly the author of a play, that shall at least 
once appear upon the boards of Thespis. Or if his son be 
destined for business, instead of learning, the father expects 
that remissness and effeminacy will take the place of manly 
enterprise and success. The mother, too, who finds her 
daughter, in spite of all her warnings and rebukes, given up 
to secret midnight communings with the latest romance, 
almost abandons the hope of ever interesting her in those 
domestic pursuits that have always been the glory of New 
England women, or even in the higher and purer branches of 
literature. Indeed, she will be thankful if her daughter, in 
the ebullition of some glowing fancy scene, does not evapo- 
rate into ether, and pass into that place described by Milton, — 

" All these, upwhirled aloft, 



Flew o'er the back side of the world, far off, 
Into a limbo, large and wide, since called 
The Paradise of Fools : — to few unknown 
Long after." — 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 135 

But I forbear : for I repeat that I have no intention of mak- 
ing a direct attack upon the passion for romance that has taken 
so deep a hold upon the community ; and I beg pardon if any 
should be led, from my remarks, to fear a transmigration into 
the limbo of Milton. I wish to look at the fact, that so gen- 
eral a taste for romance exists, with the eye of a philosopher ; 
and to inquire what that strong, deep-rooted principle of hu- 
man nature is, that lies at the foundation of this taste. And 
although I doubt not that some are attached to romances be- 
cause their baser passions there find fuel to inflame them, yet 
I prefer to believe, in general, that this taste has a nobler 
origin, and results from that strong love for whatever is new 
and wonderful, which is found in every human bosom, — es- 
pecially in the morning of life. That desire was given us for 
wise purposes. Whenever it is suffered to waste itself upon 
fiction, it is perverted ; and what was intended for our happi- 
ness becomes our bane. God has filled this beautiful world 
with enough of thrilling realities to feed and gratify this pas- 
sion to the utmost, through the whole course of our pilgrim- 
age. Passing by all other soui'ces whence it may receive 
gratification, I request the attention of this audience — es- 
pecially the youthful part of it — to some of the wonders 
developed by modern science. My object is to convince my 
hearers, that here is a far wider and nobler field, and a pro- 
fusion of more delicious fruit, and sparkling gems, than fiction 
can offer. My hope is, that I may thus divert the attention 
of some who have begun to sip of the Circsean cup of ro- 
mance, to the pure Castalian fountains of science, where the 
sparkling nectar of truth rises up to meet them. 

But in exhibiting the wonders of science, where shall I 
begin ? The field is immense : it is the universe ; and it 
is all filled up with wonders ; and the more critically these 



136 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

are examined, the more do they multiply and enlarge. It 
must be, therefore, only a glance that we can now take. I 
feel like the man who has undertaken to exhibit in one short 
hour the mazes and the beauties of an extensive series of 
gardens and parks, where the labor of centuries has been 
expended in collecting, arranging, and ornamenting the fruits 
and the flowers of every clime, and in forming every variety 
of alley, terrace, and arbor, of cascade, lake, and fountain. 
The conductor, as he hurries his visitors through one enchant- 
ing and mazy spot after another, can only pluck here and 
there a flower, or point to the clustering fruit, or to some 
charming landscape. This is all I can hope to do, as we 
move at railroad speed through the wide fields of science. 

I begin with the science of mind, which, although abound- 
ing in unprofitable speculation, still presents us with 'many 
important and wonderful truths. There is reason to believe, 
for instance, that no idea which ever existed in the mind 
can be lost. It may seem to ourselves to be gone, since we 
have no power to recall it ; as is the case with the vast ma- 
jority of our thoughts. But numerous facts show that it 
needs only some change in our physical or intellectual con- 
dition to restore the long-lost impression. A servant girl, 
for instance, twenty-four years old, who could neither read 
nor write, in the paroxysms of a fever, commenced repeating 
fluently and pompously passages of Latin, Greek, and He- 
brew ; and it afterwards appeared, that in her early days a 
learned clergyman, with whom she lived, had been in the daily 
habit of walking through a passage in his house that opened 
into the kitchen, and repeating aloud the very passages which 
she uttered during her fever. How many interesting infer- 
ences crowd upon the mind in view of such facts ! What an 
amazing power do they prove to exist in the soul ! And what 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 137 

astonishing developments will be made in this world or an- 
other, when the vast magazine of thoughts within us shall be 
unsealed ! And who can avoid the inquiry, what kind of 
thoughts he is daily pouring into this storehouse ! 

The capacity of the human mind for knowledge is another 
of its wonderful powers. By every accession of knowledge 
is that capacity enlarged ; nor have the limits of that expan- 
sion ever been reached, or imagined. Indeed, the nature of 
the mind leads us to the conclusion that there are no limits. 
And it has already been shown that whatever knowledge the 
mind acquires it can never lose. What a magnificent con- 
ception, to attempt to follow the mind along the path of its 
immortal existence, and to see it forever drinking in the stream 
of knowledge, whereby it constantly accumulates strength, and 
has the sphere of its capacity enlarged, yet remaining eter- 
nally infinitely inferior to the Deity ! Yet who can conceive 
of the vast amount of knowledge it will ultimately attain, or 
its more than angelic intellectual might ? 

No less wonderful is man's capacity for happiness. Here 
too we find no limits but infinity. The happy emotions of to- 
day only qualify the soul for stronger emotions to-morrow, 
provided all the strings of the delicate instrument are in tune. 
Nor is the increase in an arithmetical, but in a geometrical 
ratio. Who shall set limits to the expanding series ? or who 
will doubt but God can fill to overflowing the most enlarged 
capacity through eternal ages ? 

Alike unlimited is man's capacity for misery. In this world 
his sufferings sometimes rise to a fearful height. Nor can we 
discover in the nature of mind any reason why an increase 
of knowledge should not add a proportionate intensity to suf- 
fering. Who can tell what fountains of misery may be broken 
up, or when, in the round of eternal ages, the angry billows 
12* 



138 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

shall cease to roll over the soul that has broken loose from 
the great law of rectitude and happiness ? O, it is not strange 
that an inspired writer should declare, that man is not only 
wonderfully but fearfully made. His unlimited capacity for 
misery is surely a most fearful trait in his intellectual consti- 
tution. 

Not less fearful is the supremacy that is given to Conscience 
in his moral nature, especially when we recollect with what 
unbending severity she applies her scorpion lash upon the 
soul that has fallen under her displeasure. Yet no less 
promptly does her approving voice cheer the soul that is 
struggling along the strait and narrow path of duty, and brings 
down into the heart the spirit of heaven. In short, to the mas- 
tery of conscience every one must sooner or later submit. 
Rightly has it been called God's vicegerent in the soul ; and 
though it be a part of ourselves, we can as easily annihilate 
the soul as to escape from its dominion. And when we think 
how terrible are its inflictions sometimes upon the guilty, and 
recollect our unlimited capacity for misery, we cannot but in- 
quire with solicitude whether its commission does not extend 
to another world ; and though an affirmative answer may 
shock the ear of guilt, it will make the heart of virtue beat 
high with delightful anticipations. 

Even this slight reference to some of the powers of the hu- 
man soul show that it is a maze of wonders. What is there 
in the boldest flights of imagination to compare with it ? Here 
then the ingenuous mind can find enough to feed its strongest 
love of the new and the wonderful, without the aid of ro- 
mance. 

Another department, no less interesting, is mathematics. 
And in the entire certainty of its conclusions it possesses an 
advantage over every other branch of knowledge. I know 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 139 

that it is not uncommon to speak of mathematics as a dry- 
study ; but it is dry only for the reason that the grapes were 
sour to the fox — because he could not reach them. The 
truth is, that to those who have the resolution and persever- 
ance to master its noble truths, it becomes one of the most 
fascinating of all pursuits. This is particularly true of the 
higher and more difficult parts of the subject — those sublime 
heights where your own fellow-citizen, the prince of Amer- 
ican mathematicians,* soared so high, and gathered so many 
laurels, which he wreathed around the very cycles of the 
heavens. It is said that he who has the strength of wing to 
carry him fairly into the ethereal regions of the differential 
calculus, often becomes more fascinated than men in any- 
other pursuit. So many new and unthought-of truths flash 
upon his mind, as he follows the golden thread of demonstra- 
tion, that he seems to breathe an atmosphere almost freed 
from the grossness of earth. In such pursuits we can easily 
believe the English mathematician sincere when he exclaimed, 
Crede mihi, extingui dulce erit mathematicarum artium stu- 
dio — " Believe me, it will be sweet to die in the study of 
mathematics." 

But though mathematics be full of curious and fascinating 
truths, yet such is the nature of the subject that I shall scarce- 
ly be able to clothe even one fair example in a popular dress. 
Let me attempt one or two founded upon the doctrine of 
infinitesimals. To one who has not thought on the subject 
this proposition seems not a little paradoxical, viz., that a man 
may approach nearer and nearer to a fixed object eternally, 
and yet not be able to reach it ; yet by slackening his pace in 
a certain ratio, the result would be that he could never reach 

* Dr. Nathaniel Bowditch, formerly a resident of Salem, where this lec- 
ture was first given. 



140 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

the object, although he might make an infinitely near approach 
to it. 

Another proposition may be new to some, and worthy of 
being named. It is this : two lines may approach nearer 
and nearer forever without meeting, — the asymptote to the 
hyperbole, for example. This, too, is very easily conceived, 
though likely to produce scepticism when first announced. 

A third proposition asserts that one infinitesimal may be 
infinitely smaller than another. Here the mathematician starts 
with something infinitely small, — for that is the meaning of 
an infinitesimal, — and he asserts that another thing may be 
infinitely smaller. And this he demonstrates. How stupid 
must that intellect be which is not roused and interested by 
such paradoxes ! 

The science of moving forces, or mechanics, abounds with 
principles and demonstrations that are novel and striking to 
the beginner. But for the reasons mentioned in speaking of 
mathematics, they cannot be now exhibited. Perhaps the fol- 
lowing proposition may at least be amusing, although it can 
hardly be regarded as true, except theoretically. Any force, 
however small, can put in motion a body however large, and 
by a sufficient number of repetitions, give it a velocity infi- 
nitely great. When, for instance, a man stamps with his foot, 
he moves the earth ; and could he prevent the reaction of 
gravity, and were to continue to stamp long enough, he would 
not only put the earth in motion, but give it a velocity greater 
than it now has in its orbit. But the nov oro;, the place to 
stand on, which Archimedes demanded, can never be ob- 
tained ; and therefore this experiment can never be tried. 

The mechanical properties of fluids, and especially of the 
atmosphere, are some of them of a remarkable character. 
Light and yielding as we regard the air, what but experiment 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 141 

would satisfy us that a musket ball, that has a velocity suf- 
ficient to range seventeen miles in a vacuum, actually falls 
short of half a mile ; and that so rapidly does the resistance 
increase with the velocity, that it would become at length so 
great that a ball would be stopped as if fired against a stone 
wall! 

Another property of fluids that leads to some singular re- 
sults is their power of pressing in all directions alike. Hence 
it becomes true that any quantity of a fluid, however small, 
will balance any quantity, however large. Hence the hydro- 
static bellows ; by standing on which and blowing forcibly 
into a tube, a man may raise himself from the floor — or still 
more certainly by pouring into that tube a single pint of wa- 
ter. Hence, too, by inserting a tube, not more than the tenth 
of an inch in diameter, in the strongest vessel filled with wa- 
ter, and then making the tube sufficiently strong and pouring 
water into it, the vessel may be burst ; that is, the weight of 
a single quart of water is sufficient to burst asunder an iron- 
bound vessel. Or by fitting a strong piston to a large cylinder, 
the powerful machine called the hydrostatic press is formed, 
by which trees are torn up by the roots, porous bodies aston- 
ishingly compressed, and enormous weights elevated. 

This same principle (of equal pressure in all directions) 
prevents us from being conscious of the great weight of the 
atmosphere. Indeed, we are not aware that any pressure is 
upon us ; and unless we move very rapidly, or against a strong 
wind, we scarcely realize that the air offers any resistance. 
Hence a man unacquainted with pneumatics can hardly be 
made to believe that every square inch of surface upon his 
body does in fact sustain a weight of fifteen pounds, and 
that the whole weight of the atmosphere that lies upon him is 
not less than fourteen and a half tons ; while the whole sur- 



142 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

face of the earth sustains a pressure of twelve trillions of 
pounds, or six thousand billions of tons. 

The extent to which matter may be divided, both mechan- 
ically and chemically, may be regarded as one of the wonders 
of modern science. Little, indeed, is said at this day respect- 
ing the infinite divisibility of matter ; which, if theoretically 
possible, is now generally regarded by philosophers as in re- 
ality untrue. With Sir Isaac Newton, they now mostly con- 
sider it " probable that God in the beginning formed matter 
in solid, massy, hard, impenetrable, movable particles, of such 
sizes and figures, and with such other properties, and in such 
proportion to space, as most conduced to the end for which he 
formed them." 

These ultimate particles are called atoms ; and although 
none of them have ever been rendered cognizable by the 
senses, yet it can be shown that they must be inconceivably 
small. Gold may be spread over silver wire so thin that 
fourteen million films of it would make a pile only one inch 
thick ; while fourteen million films of common writing paper 
would form a pile three quarters of a mile thick. Gold may 
be beaten so thin that one twenty millionth part of a grain is 
visible to the naked eye, and one fourteen hundred millionth 
part through a microscope. Yet in each of these fragments 
there may be, for aught we know, millions of atoms. A cer- 
tain species of fungus, (bovista giganteum,) has been known 
to attain the size of a gourd in one night ; and it is calculated 
that the cellules, of which it is composed, must amount to 
47,000,000,000. If it grew in twelve hours, this would give 
4,000,000,000 per hour, or more than 66,000,000 each min- 
ute. Animalcules have been discovered so small that 1,000,- 
000 would not exceed a grain of sand, and 500,000,000 could 
sport in a drop of water. Yet each of these must have blood- 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 143 

vessels, nerves, muscles, circulating fluids, &c, like larger 
animals. What, then, must be the almost infinite littleness 
of a particle of these fluids ! Yet chemical solution carries 
this division of matter probably still farther. Thus it has 
been demonstrated that an atom of lead must weigh less than 
the one three hundred and ten thousand millionth part of a 
grain, and an atom of sulphur less than the one two trillionth 
part of a grain. The bulk of the atom of lead must be less than 
the eight hundred and eighty-eight trillionth part of a cubic 
inch. But it seems almost useless to make such statements ; 
for who can form any correct idea of things so inconceivably 
minute ? * 

If, however, we regard light as a material substance, results 
still more astonishing follow. It can be shown that, in such 
a case, the particles of light cannot weigh more than one 
million millionth part of a grain ; for if larger, they would 
destroy the organs of vision.f On the same principle, it has 
been calculated that the particles of light that flow from a 
candle in a second are more than six billion times as many 
as the grains of sand in the whole earth, if each cubic inch 
contains one million.J The opinion that light is material, 
however, has given place to what is called the undulatory 
theory. This supposes the universe to be filled with a very 
subtle elastic fluid, called the luminiferous ether, and that the 
vibrations of this ether communicate the impression of light 
to the eye just as the vibrations of the air convey to the ear 
the idea of sound. But, upon this hypothesis, the inferences 
are no less wonderful than upon the supposition that light is 
material. It is a demonstrated fact, for instance, that light 
moves at the rate of nearly 200,000 miles (192,500) per 

* Prout's Bridgewater Treatise, p. 36. 
f Turner's Sacred History, Vol. I. p. 24. 
{ Ferguson's Lectures, Vol. I. p. 228. 



144 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

second ; and who can conceive of vibrations spreading on all 
sides of a luminous body with such a velocity ? Take, for an 
example, one of the fixed stars. Astronomers have demon- 
strated that the distance of the nearest star cannot be less 
than twenty billions of miles, while stars of smaller mag- 
nitude must be situated at a distance immensely greater. 
Now, it has been shown by Dr. Wollaston that the light of 
Sirius is only one twelve thousand millionth part (11,839,- 
530,000) as great as the light of the sun ; and the light of 
the star Vega, of much smaller magnitude, is 180 millions of 
times less than that of the sun. Yet, if the eyes of the ten 
thousand millions of animals on the globe were all turned 
towards this star at the same instant, each one would have a 
distinct image of it formed upon the retina. And if the mil- 
lions of millions of other worlds, scattered through space, are 
peopled as thickly as our own, and every eye there were 
directed to that star at the same time, each eye would see it 
as distinctly as if no other one were gazing upon it. What 
an astonishing power, then, is light ! Who does not feel him- 
self lost in attempting to comprehend its nature ! 

But, still further, philosophers suppose they have demon- 
strated that the different colors in nature are produced by a 
difference in the number of vibrations in the luminiferous 
ether, and that, in a single second of time, the eye is affected 
by these movements as follows : — 

In red, . . 477,000,000,000 of times ; 

In orange, . 506,000,000,000 of times ; 

In yellow, . 535,000,000,000 of times ; 

In green, . 577,000,000,000 of times ; 

In blue, . . 622,000,000,000 of times ; 

In indigo, . 658,000,000,000 of times ; 

In violet, . 699,000,000,000 of times. 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 145 

Is it strange that man looks upon light with an awe ap- 
proaching devotion, and that Milton should exclaim, — 

" Hail, holy light ! offspring of Heaven, first born, 
Or of the eternal, coeternal beam " ? 

I will only add, in this connection, a statement of La Place 
respecting attraction : " I have ascertained," says he, " that 
between the heavenly bodies all attractions are transmitted 
with a velocity which, if it be not infinite, surpasses several 
thousand times the velocity of light." His annotator esti- 
mates it as eight million of times greater than that of light. 

Were there time for the details, the science of optics would 
furnish many other illustrations appropriate to my object — 
such as the diffraction of light, the splendid colors of their 
films, and the phenomena of polarization and double refrac- 
tion. But I must hurry forward. Nor can we be long de- 
tained even upon the sublime developments of astronomy. 
Since the most common and striking of these have been so 
often and familiarly described in public lectures, and even in 
the primary school manual, I shall confine my remarks to 
some principles that are less generally known, or to recent* 
discoveries. 

I have always regarded it as one of the greatest achieve- 
ments of astronomers that they have been able to weigh the 
bodies of the solar system, so as to state how many pounds 
avoirdupois they contain, and to ascertain their relative weight 
compared with that of water. It is certain, for instance, that 
the mass of Jupiter is more than 322, and less than 323, 
times the mass of this globe — so accurately has this work 
been accomplished. The mass of the sun is 359,551 times 
greater than that of the earth and moon, and 700 times 
greater than the united masses of all the planets. The 
13 



146 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

weight of the most important bodies of the solar system, com- 
pared with water, is as follows : — 



Sun, . . 


1.40 


Mars, . 


. 0.71 


Moon, . 


3.37 


Jupiter, . 


. 1.42 


Mercury, 


15.24 


Saturn, . 


. 0.56 


Venus, . 


5.15 


Uranus, 


. 1.53 


Earth, . 


5.48 







From this statement we learn that Saturn is composed of 
matter only half as heavy as water; while Mercury is consid- 
erably heavier than quicksilver, and a third heavier than lead, 
Our own globe, also, taken as a whole, is twice as heavy as 
common rock, and half as heavy as lead — a fact which 
shows the great density of its internal parts. 

The disturbances that take place among the heavenly 
bodies in consequence of their mutual attraction constitute 
a branch of knowledge the most profound, it is said, in the 
whole circle of human science — requiring all the aid of the 
most difficult and subtle mathematical analysis. In this field 
such men as Newton and La Grange, La Place and Bowditch, 
have won their noblest honors ; and I may add, it is only 
such minds that can disentangle the mazes of this labyrinth. 
The problem to be solved was this : given the directions and 
velocities of about thirty mutually-attracting bodies, to find 
their places after any number of ages. And to give some 
idea of the complexity of the problem, it may be stated that 
one of these bodies, the moon, is subject to no less than sixty 
perturbations in her longitude. And to show how successful 
astronomers have been in estimating these, it may be stated 
that the lunar tables actually contain twenty-eight corrections, 
or equations, to be applied to her mean place to obtain her 
true place ; and the result never varies from the truth more 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 147 

than five seconds of a degree. But the most interesting re- 
sult to which these investigations have led is the great truth, 
that, in spite of these perturbations, the permanence of the 
solar system is secured ; nay, that these very disturbances 
are the means of preserving it from ruin. Formerly, astron- 
omers thought they saw in the motions of the heavenly bod- 
ies a tendency to ruin. The moon, for instance, has been for 
thousands of years coming nearer and nearer the earth in 
every revolution ; and the eccentricity of the earth's orbit has 
been diminishing, as has also the obliquity of the ecliptic to 
the equator. But it is now shown that all these irregularities 
are periodical ; and that after having proceeded in one direc- 
tion for a time, — it may be for hundreds, or thousands, or 
even millions of years, — they will reach a limit which they 
cannot pass, and oscillate in the opposite direction ; and the 
limits of oscillation are too narrow seriously to affect the sta- 
bility of the system or the comfort of its inhabitants. This 
demonstration, first wrought out by La Grange and La Place, 
and afterwards corrected by Bowditch, is one of the proudest 
achievements of modern science, and proves that our system, 
in itself considered, is eternal. 

But a question has long been agitated whether all space is 
not occupied with very thin and subtle matter, which must 
offer a resistance to the motions of the heavenly bodies, and 
bring the system to ruin at last. And modern astronomical 
discoveries seem nearly to have settled this question in the 
affirmative. The universal diffusion of light, heat, and elec- 
tricity, especially if the undulatory theory of light be true, 
render such an opinion probable. But the observations that 
have been made upon what is called Encke's comet, which 
revolves round the sun in three and a half years, make it 
almost certain that this medium does exist. That comet. 



148 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

being nothing but a mass of thin vapor, is retarded much 
more than the planets, which are solid, and has actually ad- 
vanced in its orbit, since its discovery, ten days more than 
can be explained by the laws of gravity, exclusive of a 
resisting medium. Some thirty thousand years will elapse 
before it will fall into the sun, and many millions of years 
before the same cause would precipitate the planets to the 
centre ; but it is an interesting conclusion that, ultimately and 
inevitably, if such a cause exist, ruin must ensue. 

Modern discoveries respecting the nature of comets in gen- 
eral open a wide field for the play of the imagination. It 
seems now to be proved that nearly all of them (say, perhaps, 
800) are nothing but thin vapor ; for the fixed stars are visi- 
ble directly through their centres. They must, of course, be 
far less dense than the thinnest cloud. And yet these bodies 
move round the sun in obedience to the same laws as the 
planets, though liable to greater irregularities. The trains 
which accompany them, and which are sometimes, as in the 
comet of 1811, more than 130 millions of miles long, are 
evidently produced by the action of the sun, but in what way 
it seems difficult to conceive. In all ages, great anxiety has 
been manifested lest a collision should take place between the 
earth and one of these bodies. But the knowledge we now 
have of their nature teaches us that, even should one of them 
be encountered in the earth's annual circuit, it is not probable 
that matter so tenuous could pass through the atmosphere, 
and that the only effect of such an occurrence would be some 
slight meteorological change, or perhaps, as one of our coun- 
trymen suggests, who has distinguished himself by attention 
to this and kindred subjects, another splendid meteoric shower 
might signalize the event* 

* Olmsted's Astronomy, p. 242, 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 149 

The comet called Biela's, from its discoverer, which re- 
volves around the sun in about seven years, in one of its recent 
returns, divided into two parts, which moved on together, 
with no apparent mutual influence. This fact proves, if 
proof were wanting, the extreme tenuity of the matter. . The 
parts move along together just like two wreaths of smoke or 
vapor, and have occupied the same relative position for at least 
one revolution, except that they are receding from each other. 

So successful have Lord Rosse and others been in resolv- 
ing nebulse, of late, that some astronomers are confident that 
all of them will be found, at length, to consist of stars. But 
such masses as the Magellanic Clouds of the southern hemi- 
sphere, and especially the facts respecting spiral nebula?, make 
it more probable that some of them consist rather of diffused 
patches of self-luminous vapor, analogous to comets. On the 
hypothesis that they are made up of fixed stars, it is quite 
impossible to account for their spiral form. But if the mat- 
ter has been in motion in a resisting medium, it would have 
assumed a spiral form, and be disseminated all along its 
course towards the centre of attraction. 

The curious facts that are established by modern astrono- 
mers respecting double stars prove that the great law of grav- 
itation extends, to other systems beyond the solar. More 
than one quarter of the stars, according to Struve, are double ; 
and, in several instances, it is proved that these stars revolve 
about each other in elliptic orbits, in periods between 43 
and 12€0 years. Taking these facts in connection with the 
periodical disappearance and reappearance of some stars, 
with the occasional sudden bursting forth of a new star, and 
the total extinguishment of others, we are led to doubt 
whether our solar system is a type, in all respects, of the 
entire universe, though probably the same general laws pre- 
13* 



150 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

vail in all worlds. But how difficult to conceive of revolving 
planets in a system that has two suns, one of which revolves 
around the other ! Infinite wisdom may have plans and ob- 
jects in the collocation, movements, and physical condition of 
worlds totally inconceivable by human powers. 

Even as long ago as the time of Halley, that astronomer 
suggested that probably the solar system had a motion in an 
orbit around some remote centre ; and the idea has been fre- 
quently revived in more recent times, and subjected to the 
test of observation. And though some still profess to be 
sceptical on the subject, it seems difficult to resist the convic- 
tion that it is true. For the stars in one part of the heaven 
gradually approximate towards one another, while in the op- 
posite part they recede. In what other way can we explain 
such a fact, but by supposing that we are approaching the 
stars in one direction, and receding from them in the other ? 
The point towards which we seem to be tending is in right 
ascension about 260°, in declination 34° north, corresponding 
to the constellation Hercules. Astronomers even profess to 
have determined the velocity approximately with which we 
are moving — which is 154,185,000 miles in a year, 422.000 
in an hour, and 57 each second. Whether the remote cen- 
tre that regulates this movement may be occupied by a vast 
sun, or the attraction may be but the aggregate of the influ- 
ence of a vast number of smaller bodies embraced in the 
same system, it may never be possible to know ; yet possibly 
the discovery may one day be made. 

The rapidity with which the new planets, denominated as- 
teroids, have been discovered of late, is one of the most 
remarkable features of modern astronomy. These all move 
between Mars and Jupiter; and though forty are now known, 
their united mass is less than a quarter part of the weight 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 151 

of the earth. The hypothesis, that they have all originated 
from the bursting asunder of a planet that once revolved be- 
tween Mars and Jupiter, is gaining strength, notwithstanding 
the powerful attack upon it by Leverrier. Professor Alexan- 
der, of this country, suggests that the form of this original 
planet was a mere flattened disk, that flew asunder from its 
centrifugal force. If so, it is not improbable that those much 
smaller masses that not unfrequently fall from the heavens, 
called meteors, had the same origin. If they had, the great 
problem for astronomers and meteorologists to solve is to 
make out the series, by discovering asteriods of less and less 
size, and meteors of larger size. Leverrier suggests that, 
probably by the close of this century, 100 of the asteriods 
will have been discovered and described. 

Astronomers had demonstrated that the nearest fixed star 
could not be less than 20 billions of miles from the earth. 
But they were not satisfied till they could determine the ac- 
tual distance. I believe that Bessel, of Prussia, was the first 
who ascertained the annual parallax of a star, viz., 61 Cygni, 
and found it to be 0".3136; that is, the diameter of the earth's 
orbit, equal 190 millions of miles, as seen from this star, sub- 
tends an angle of one third of a second only. From this he 
deduced its actual distance to be more than 62 billions of 
miles, (62,481,500,000,000.) Light, travelling from this star 
at the rate of 200,000 miles per second, would require more 
than seven years to reach the earth. The parallaxes of other 
stars have since been ascertained, and some of them are much 
smaller — not more than the 0.027th of a second. This would 
make the distance of this star 731,136,000,000,000 miles, and 
light from it would require 120 years to reach us. What, 
then, must be the parallax and distance of the telescopic stars ! 
A flash of lightning on the earth would be visible on the moon 
in a second and a quarter ; on the sun, in eight minutes ; on 



152 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

Jupiter, when farthest from us, in 52 minutes ; on Uranus, in 
two hours ; on Neptune, in four hours and a quarter ; on the 
star Vega, of the first magnitude, in 45 years ; on a star of 
the eighth magnitude, in 180 years ; on a star of the twelfth 
magnitude, in 4000 years ; and such stars are visible through 
the telescope. One of these remotest stars, therefore, may 
have been struck out of existence as long ago as man's crea- 
tion, and yet be still visible in our telescopes. What prodi- 
gious demands does science make upon our faith, and upon 
our powers of conception too ! 

The rapid progress which has been made within a few years 
past in the sciences of galvanism and electro-magnetism has 
made it nearly certain that electricity, magnetism, galvan- 
ism, and electro-magnetism, are all but modifications of one 
great, power in nature, and that is the electric fluid. In com- 
mon electricity, we witness this fluid in a state of uncontrollable 
intensity. In galvanism, we see it flowing in an uninterrupted 
current. In electro-magnetism, we see that magnetism is pro- 
duced whenever a constant current of electricity can be made 
to pass through a body ; and if those currents can be made 
to flow permanently, then permanent magnets will be pro- 
duced. On the other hand, currents of electricity, which may 
be made visible, may be induced in coils of copper wire, by 
making and breaking the connection of a bar of soft iron with 
a permanent magnet ; that is, electricity may be produced by 
magnetism, and it seems almost certain, therefore, that mag- 
netism is only a modification of electricity. 

These discoveries have thrown a flood of light upon many 
of the most curious and recondite operations of nature. The 
astonishing effects of the galvanic fluid upon animals recently 
killed, although it does not demonstrate that the nrysterious 
principle of life is identical with electricity, yet proves a very 
intimate relation between the two things. By the application 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 153 

of galvanism, for instance, to the head of an ox recently 
killed, his mouth opened with a bellowing noise ; a linnet, 
that had lain dead for some minutes, was made to spring up, 
nutter its wings, and breathe six or eight minutes ; and seve- 
ral times, criminals, after hanging by the neck until they 
were dead, have had all the muscles of their bodies put in 
violent motion, full and laborious breathing has been pro- 
duced, and every muscle in the murderer's face has been 
thrown into fearful action, so that rage, horror, despair, and 
ghastly smiles were exhibited in his countenance in such a 
hideous combination as to produce sickness and fainting 
among the spectators. 

Physiologists have in vain endeavored to explain by what 
principle the numerous distinct parts, solid and fluid, that are 
found in animals and plants, can be separated from the blood 
and the sap. They could see that most delicate and compli- 
cated chemical operations must be concerned ; but the ques- 
tion was, by what secret power these operations were accom- 
plished. Galvanism throws at least a glimpse of light upon 
the subject. The galvanic fluid, when passing through bodies, 
especially those in solution, exerts an astonishing power of 
decomposing or separating them into their elements, and thus 
giving those elements an opportunity to form new combina- 
tions. And, indeed, I know of nothing more wonderful in the 
whole records of science than this mysterious power. Now, 
may it not be that every animal and every plant contains with- 
in its organization a galvanic combination, sufficiently power- 
ful to elaborate all the secretions which its nature requires ? 
Indeed, the most distinguished philosophers of our day have 
suggested that in animals the brain may be this electric pile, 
which sends along the nerves, as conductors, its successive 
shocks, whereby the pulsations of the heart are produced, and 



154 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

the proximate principles found in animals are secreted from 
the blood. Hypothetical as this idea may seem, when first 
announced, there is one fact that throws over it an air of 
probability. We do know that several species of fish, by 
means of a galvanic arrangement in their heads, have the 
power of giving powerful electric shocks. The gymnotus 
electricus, or electric eel, for instance, gives a shock, ac- 
cording to Humboldt, powerful enough to kill a man, and by 
repetition even a mule, horse, &c. May not a weaker power 
of this sort, which is all that is necessary, be found in every 
animal and plant ? 

Galvanism, also, shows us how many metallic veins may be 
formed even now in the solid rocks, and how the crystals and 
gems dug from thence may be produced. Electro-magnet- 
ism shows us that it is only necessary to suppose the revolu- 
tion of electric currents around the earth, in order to show 
why the magnetic needle takes a north and south direction ; 
while thermo-electricity gives us a reason why that needle has 
a daily variation. In electro-magnetism, also, we find a prob- 
able solution for that most remarkable phenomenon, the au- 
rora boreal is and australis. That it is an electro-magnetic 
phenomenon seems proved beyond all doubt by the fact that 
its beautiful coruscations all radiate from one pf the magnetic 
poles, though the precise manner in which electro-magnetic 
currents operate to produce it is still involved in obscurity. 

After all, the instantaneous development of a very great 
attractive force in some electro-magnetic experiments seems 
to me the most marvellous effect exhibited by this science. 
Take, for instance, the electro-magnet, which is nothing but a 
bent piece of soft iron, coiled with several hundred feet of 
copper wire. This iron has no magnetism till the extremities 
of the wire are connected with the poles of a very feeble 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 155 

galvanic battery, when instantly, as if by magic, a prodigious 
magnetic force is communicated to the iron — even a force 
of two thousand or three thousand pounds, which vanishes as 
soon as the connection with the battery is broken. Now, is 
it not amazing that this powerful force should be communicat- 
ed in a moment through a wire not more than one twentieth 
of an inch in diameter ? Do we not here catch a glimpse of 
a prodigious natural force, which lies hidden and silent all 
around us, and which, if it could only be fully developed, 
would arm man with an energy almost irresistible ? I confess 
I do not yet despair of his being one day put into full posses- 
sion of this power. 

The next wide field that opens before us is chemistry : and 
how many marvellous things invite our examination ! But I 
must not forget that my first object should be to hurry for- 
ward. Yet I must linger long enough to point out a few flow- 
ery spots. 

The atoms, or particles, of all matter, are subject to the 
influence of two forces — attraction and repulsion. When 
the first predominates, solid bodies are formed ; when the lat- 
ter prevails, elastic gas, or air, is the result ; when both are 
equally balanced, liquids are produced. The antagonist to 
affinity, or attraction, is heat ; and it is always because bodies 
contain this principle in different degrees, that some are solid, 
some liquid, and some gaseous. Men are accustomed to think 
of heat only in that state in which it affects our senses ; but 
in fact the greater part of it is in a hidden or latent state, and 
no body is so cold but a great amount of heat can be elicited 
from it, either chemically or mechanically. If, for instance, 
all the heat contained in the snow and ice that has mantled 
New England during the past winter had been suddenly ex- 
tricated, there can be hardly a doubt but a general conflagra- 
tion of the surface would have been the result. 



156 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

The operation of latent heat in changing the forms of bodies 
produces some very paradoxical results. Thus, in freezing, 
water gives out 140° of heat, which becomes sensible ; and 
the great amount of congelation in cold climates is doubtless 
one of the principal causes that render them habitable and 
comfortable ; for the harder the frost, the greater the amount 
of heat given out. On the other hand, when water evapo- 
rates, it takes up into a latent state nearly 1000° of heat ; 
and this probably it is, chiefly, that renders the torrid zone 
tolerable, since the heat of a vertical sun must produce a vast 
amount of evaporation. Once more, by a. singular exception 
to a general law, that cold contracts all bodies, it is well known 
that water, in freezing, expands, so that the ice swims in it ; 
and being an almost perfect non-conductor of heat, it prevents 
the water beneath from giving off its heat, and so it will not 
freeze.* Were it not for this singular anomaly, — . this inter- 
ference of one law with another, — all the streams and lakes 
in such a climate as ours would be frozen to their bottoms, 
and the summer would hardly suffice to thaw them out. 

Not less wonderful are the effects of affinity, or the power 
by which the elements are combined, so as to form compound 
substances. In these combinations it has been found that the 
elements unite only in definite quantities, and each substance 
has its peculiar combining proportion, — a law which forms a 
mathematical basis for chemistry, — and exhibits strikingly 
the wisdom of the Deity, showing us that perfect system pre- 
vails in the minute, as well as in the most extensive opera- 
tions of nature. But it is impossible for me to do any justice 
at this time to a subject so difficult as that of definite propor- 
tions. He only can fully appreciate its beauty who has long 

* This is rather a new law coming in than an exception to a law ; for it is 
not confined to water, and seems to be the result of a new arrangement of 
the particles in the act of crystallization. 



WITH THE WONDEKS OF ROMANCE. 157 

been devoted to the delicate and difficult department of chem- 
ical analysis. 

The vast variety which nature produces by the union of a 
few elements is one of the most wonderful results of chemi- 
cal affinity. It is true chemists describe a little over sixty of 
these elements ; but sixteen of these constitute almost the 
entire mass of the globe, and scarcely more than four are 
essential to form the vast variety of the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms. It is amazing, also, to see how very great a dif- 
ference between two compounds is often produced by a slight 
variation in the proportion of their ingredients. Oxygen and 
nitrogen, for instance, mixed in the proportion of one of the 
former to four of the latter, constitute the atmosphere, the 
very pabulum of life to animals and plants. But combine 
them in the proportion of fourteen parts nitrogen and eight 
parts oxygen, and you form the exhilarating gas, little better 
adapted to respiration than the vapor of alcohol or ether. 
Add eight parts more of oxygen, and a gas results, which, 
taken into the lungs, would be almost certainly fatal. Add 
successively eight, sixteen, and twenty-four parts more of 
oxygen, and three distinct acids would be formed, eminently 
hostile to life. What perfect wisdom and perfect benevolence 
must have arranged the chemical constitution and agencies of 
this world, to adapt them to the delicate organization of ani- 
mals and plants ! And how very slightly the elements of life 
differ from the elements of death ! The most delicious fruits 
of the vegetable kingdom, for instance, are composed of oxy- 
gen, hydrogen, and carbon, and sometimes nitrogen ; and the 
most fatal vegetable poisons have the same composition, dif- 
fering only in the proportion of the ingredients. 

The magic power of chemical affinity is still more manifest 
in the entire change of properties which takes place in sub- 
14 



158 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

stances upon combination. Suppose you should direct your 
cook to provide an entertainment of all the varieties of food^ 
which the market and the culinary art could furnish, and he, 
taking a chemical fancy into his head, should set before you 
and your guests a dish of charcoal, and a vessel of water, 
telling you that if you wanted any nitrogen in addition, the 
atmosphere would furnish it. Now, he could truly plead that 
he had set before you oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and car- 
bon ; and that if he had loaded your table with the most cost- 
ly viands and fruit, it would have added little more. But you 
would think his chemistry a poor substitute for a good dinner. 

Once more : a mere difference in the arrangement of the 
particles of a substance makes a world of difference in its 
properties. Suppose, for instance, that when Messrs. Bun- 
dell and Bridges received orders to prepare Queen Victoria's 
crown for coronation day, instead of surmounting it with dia- 
monds, they had covered it with charcoal points, and present- 
ed a bill of £1, instead of £100,000, or half a million of 
dollars. It would probably have hardly quieted the royal dis- 
pleasure to have been informed that the chemical constitution 
of charcoal is precisely the same as that of the diamond, and 
that a slight difference in the arrangement of the particles 
could be of no consequence. 

The complete neutralization and concealment of the most 
powerful substances, by means of strong chemical affinity, is 
another remarkable effect of this agency, and a striking ex- 
ample of divine beneficence. For had these substances been 
left free, the destruction of organic beings must have been 
certain. Almost every one knows, for instance, how fatal a 
poison is phosphorus, and how eminently and powerfully com- 
bustible it is. But this substance abounds through all nature 
— in the solid rocks, in the soils, in plants, and especially in 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 159 

the bones of animals ; nay, it is found even in the brain. 
A middling-sized man, for instance, contains a pound of it, 
which, if in a free state and inflamed, would burn him up and 
every thing around him. But now, nothing is more incom- 
bustible than a bone. No one suspects what a terrible agent 
he carries within him ; nor has any one reason to fear it, be- 
cause it is disarmed. And so it is throughout nature — so 
concealed, indeed, that nothing but delicate chemical tests can 
discover its existence. The same is true of chlorine, which, 
in a free state, is eminently terrible. And were all of this 
element that is now chained in the ocean to be liberated in 
one day, it would sweep this fair world of all its tenants, and 
its beauty. In short, modern chemistry has afforded us a 
glimpse of a multitude of agents within us and around us, 
which, in a free state, are of terrific power. But the lion is 
converted into a lamb by the strong chain of affinity. 

In meteorology, although prolific in remarkable phenomena, 
I shall notice but two or three. In the first place, consider 
what a remarkable envelope of our globe is its atmosphere ! 
We have first an atmosphere of gas, a mixture of oxygen 
and nitrogen, decreasing in density upwards in a geometrical 
ratio. In the second place, we have an atmosphere of vapor 
equally extensive ; for the gas is a solvent of water, and the 
average amount of vapor in the air would form a stratum of 
water on the earth's surface five inches thick ; and the amount 
of water annually deposited in the form of dew actually 
amounts to four inches in depth. In the third place, we have 
an atmosphere of that subtle ether which probably pervades 
all space, and occupies the interstices between the particles 
of matter, and gives rise to the phenomena of light, heat, and 
electricity. And yet this atmosphere, so complex in its char- 
acter, seems to us the most simple of all things. 



160 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

The power of natural evaporation possessed by the atmos- 
phere is very surprising. From experiments made in Eu- 
rope, it appears that the quantity of water evaporated from 
the surface of Great Britain amounts to 32 inches, or 
142 thousand millions (141,832,558,752) of tons annually, 
while the quantity of rain that falls is 38 inches, or 160 thou- 
sand millions of tons, (159,581,628,596.) * 

In order to prevent universal stagnation and death, it was 
necessary that the atmospheric elements should be allowed 
some degree of motion. But the limits of their oscillations 
must be very narrow, or desolation would follow their move- 
ments. And how perfectly is this object accomplished, though 
seemingly impossible ! for when Eolus has once escaped from 
his cave, who shall bind him again ? Almighty wisdom and 
power are alone adequate ; and though occasional ruin fol- 
lows the elemental strife, yet security is the law, and desola- 
tion the infrequent exception. 

In advancing to those sciences that relate to the animate 
part of creation, anatomy and physiology, the first of which 
treats of the structure, and the latter of the functions, of 
organized beings, first arrest our attention ; and they so 
abound with wonders, that the remaining time which your 
patience will allow me might be all profitably devoted to 
them. But so many familiar and popular works have been 
published upon anatomy and physiology, that I may fairly 
presume every person of good education has some ac- 
quaintance with many of the most striking facts in these 
sciences. Who, for instance, has not some knowledge of the 
structure of that most exquisite of all organic contrivances 
the eye ? Who cannot tell something of the mechanism of 

* Thomson on Heat and Electricity, p. 267. Turner's Sacred History, 
Vol. I. p. 32. 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 161 

the ear ? of the bones, especially the vertebral column, — 
of the organs of digestion and assimilation, — of the muscles, 
and their mysterious power of contraction, — and above all, 
of the circulation of the blood, with the structure and func- 
tions of the heart and the lungs ? Who knows not that his 
five senses depend chiefly upon distinct sets of nerves, all 
proceeding from one great centre, the brain, and yet incapa- 
ble of performing the functions of one another ? And who 
does not remember what thrilling impressions the first devel- 
opment of these subjects made upon him ? how he trembled 
to hear his heart beat, and to feel his lungs heaving, and 
almost feared to move, lest the harp of thousand strings 
should be untuned ? 

But there is a department of these sciences, called Com- 
parative Anatomy and Physiology, which has of late been 
cultivated with extraordinary success, and whose marvellous 
results are less known. I cannot, therefore, entirely neglect 
them. 

When a man, not conversant with anatomy, looks upon the 
bones of an animal promiscuously mingled together, he does 
not perceive any striking harmony and relation between them. 
But a careful and extensive comparison reveals the astonish- 
ing fact, " that from the character of a single limb," (I use 
the words of an able comparative anatomist,) " and even of 
a single tooth, or bone, the form and proportion of the other 
bones, and the condition of the entire animal, may be in- 
ferred." " Hence, not only the framework of the fossil skel- 
eton of an extinct animal, but also the character of the mus- 
cles, by which each bone was moved, the external form and 
figure of the body, the food, and habits, and haunts, and mode 
of life of creatures that ceased to exist before the creation of 
the human race, can, with a high degree of probability, be 
14 * 



162 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

ascertained."* These statements have been established by 
the severest tests. For a single tooth or bone of an unknown 
animal has been put into the hands of the anatomist, and from 
it he has constructed the entire skeleton and a description of 
the whole animal. Afterwards a complete skeleton has been 
discovered, and found to correspond with the one described 
by analogy. Truly, there is mathematics in bones, as well as 
in lines, angles, and numbers. 

It is an interesting process to take a particular organ of the 
human frame and compare it with the analogous organ in the 
lower classes of animals, and to see how its functions and 
structure gradually change ; but always in such a manner as 
will adapt it more perfectly to the condition and wants of the 
animal. So manifold and striking, for example, are these 
adaptations in that most remarkable organ, the hand, that a 
distinguished anatomist has made it the entire subject of one 
of the famous Bridgewater Treatises. Or take the organs of 
motion, and compare the movements of the sloth with those 
of the deer, the antelope, the hare, the grasshopper, or the 
flea. The sloth consumes several days in getting from one 
tree to another — which he never does till nearly starved. 
But such a change is rarely necessary, and therefore the mus- 
cles are not adapted to it. Yet the cicada spumaria, a spe- 
cies of locust, can leap two hundred and fifty times its length. 
If a man could leap the same distance in proportion to his 
size, he would be carried a quarter of a mile ; and an ox or 
an elephant still farther — far enough, indeed, to dash him in 
pieces. A flea weighs less than a grain, and can leap an 
inch and a half. A man, at the same rate, would pass over 
12,800 miles, or half round the globe ! The legs of one 

* Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise, Vol. I. p. 109. 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 163 

insect, the water boatman, (notenecta,) are so fitted that 
he always swims upon his back. Another, the bat-mite, 
(pteroptus,) has the power of instantly throwing its legs up- 
wards so as to walk upon its back. Another, the dragon fly, 
can project a stream of water from its body, and thus be 
driven forward on the principle of the rocket. 

Not less variety exists in the organs of respiration. We 
are apt to feel that breathing can be performed only by lungs. 
But the membranous air bags of reptiles are quite different. 
Frogs and tortoises swallow air, and hence have been known 
to live more than a month with their mouths and nostrils 
closed ; although there is reason to believe that the common 
opinion that frogs live for centuries without air, enclosed in 
stone, is unfounded. Fishes breathe by their gills, and insects 
by means of tubes in various parts of their bodies. 

Man, too, finds it difficult to conceive how animals can exist 
without heads. But a large class that inhabit sea shells are 
called acephala, — that is, headless animals, — and the skill 
which they discover in the formation of those beautiful struc- 
tures which form their habitations throws into the shade the 
architecture of that biped race who not only have heads, but 
boast that they constitute the head of this lower creation. 

The delicate changes in the organs of vision to adapt them 
to the condition and wants of animals are among the most 
remarkable provisions of divine wisdom for their comfort. 
We cannot see well in water, because our eyes are fitted for 
the air ; nor can fish see well in air, for the same reason. 
By using very convex spectacles we might have distinct vision 
in water ; and so, were a whale disposed to take an excursion 
on land, the optician might doubtless provide him with a pair 
of spectacles through which he could see as well as many 
travellers of our own species have done. But his glasses 



164 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPAEED 

must be concave. Some insects, as the gyrinus, which live 
chiefly upon the surface of the water, have two pairs of eyes, 
or perhaps a division of one pair into an upper and lower part 
— one set for looking into the water, and the other for look- 
ing into the air. The eyes of insects generally are fixed 
immovably in the head, and, therefore, they need some pro- 
vision to enable them to see on all sides. This is accom- 
plished by making their eyes polygonal, like a multiplying 
glass, which, in fact, amounts to giving them as many eyes as 
there are facets ; for each plane will produce a separate im- 
age on the retina. In this sense the house fly has- 14,000 
eyes — that is, 7000 facets to each eye ; the dragon fly, 
25,000 ; the butterfly, 35,000 ; and the mordella, 50,000. 
How perfect must be the structure of the eye to keep so 
complex an organ in repair ! Another fact in relation to the 
eye of the cod fish is still more striking in this connection. 
The crystalline lens in that fish, which is never half an inch 
in diameter, has been proved to be made up of more than 
5,000,000 fibres, which are united together by more than 
62,500,000,000 teeth ! 

The instincts of animals afford a prolific source of exam- 
ples appropriate to my object. But presuming that many 
marvellous facts on this subject are known to all, I shall pass 
rapidly over it. Perhaps, however, no department of science 
presents facts so nearly approaching to romance as this. In- 
deed, the earlier works on zoology contain not a few statements 
that are really fictitious. Many, for example, still suppose that 
serpents have the power of charming their prey, and even 
man, within the reach of their fangs ; a notion which is of a 
piece with the ancient stories about the sirens, — the dulce ma' 
lum in pelago, — or with the modern notions about the conver- 
sion of a horsehair, into a snake. But making all due allow- 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 165 

ances for such fancies, there still remains in the history of 
animal instincts a vast mass of facts that are truly marvel- 
lous. Perhaps in nothing do these instincts seem more like 
perfected reason than in the construction of the habitations 
of animals. Who does not know what geometry as well as 
perfection of government there is in a beehive ? Nor are 
they less striking in a vespiary. Indeed, the queen of the 
wasps is far more enterprising and energetic than the queen 
of the honey bees. For during the winter nearly all the 
wasps die, and the queen has to rear up an entirely new col- 
ony, and provide for them. But before autumn she not un- 
frequently rules over no less than 30,000 subjects — and all 
her own children. I must not, however, go into details on 
these points. But there is one fact connected with the history 
of bees, though not very relevant to my subject, which I men- 
tion for the special benefit of young men. Naturalists admit 
that the most satisfactory account of the instincts and habits 
of bees was furnished by the elder Huber, who constructed 
glass hives, and other apparatus, so that he could watch their 
movements. But of what use were glass hives to him ? for 
he was stone blind. The mystery is easily explained. " He 
saw the bees," says his biographer, " through the eyes of the 
admirable woman whom he married." Now, I wish the young 
gentlemen who hear me to understand that it is no uncommon 
occurrence for a man to find his wife as great a blessing as a 
good pair of eyes. 

The instincts of the spider are quite as remarkable as 
those of the bee, the wasp, and the ant. Though the most 
ferocious of all animals, she will fight with desperation in 
defence of her young ; but when the cocoon containing them 
is torn from her, she will simulate death so perfectly, that her 
limbs may be torn off one by one, and yet she will show no 



168 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

sign of life ; but let her cocoon be brought within her reach, 
and she will seize it with desperate strength. The process by 
which the spider weaves its web is as remarkable as any 
• thing in the animal kingdom ; but the description would be 
too prolix. 

I must not leave the comparative physiology of animals 
without adverting to the subject of their transformation, or 
metamorphosis. Every animal, in the successive stages of its 
existence, undergoes more or less of change. It is said that, 
in man, the particles that compose the infant are several 
times entirely replaced by others before the period of old 
age. But some animals undergo sudden and remarkable 
changes. Serpents cast off their skins, and crustaceans, such 
as the lobster, their shells, annually. The frog is first hatched 
in the form of a tadpole, — or, as we more commonly say in 
New England, a polliwog, — which has the form of a fish 
with a large head, but without legs or fins. Gradually this 
creature becomes a frog, with four legs. But the most per- 
fect example of metamorphosis is that of insects, especially 
the winged species. They are hatched as a caterpillar, or 
grub, which is called their larva state. Next they enclose 
themselves in a cocoon, and become torpid. This is their 
pupa or chrysalis state. From this condition they emerge 
into their imago or perfect state, as elegant, lively, winged in- 
sects. Such cases have been beautifully denominated emblems 
of immortality. The larva state, in which the animal is in an 
active, but depressed and imperfect condition, may well be 
likened to the present life. The torpidity and confinement of 
the pupa state well represents our detention in the grave ; 
while the imago or perfect state beautifully typifies our con- 
dition when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, 
and this mortal shall have put on immortality. 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 167 

Among the lowest tribes of animals, the polypi are distin- 
guished for their anomalies. The simplest form of one of 
these animals is a fleshy tube, open only at the top, and the 
opening surrounded by flexible arms, called tentacula. On 
each side of the tentacula are usually fine fibres, like hairs, 
called cilise. These are capable of such rapid motion that 
the eye cannot follow them ; and the object of their move- 
ments usually is to produce eddying currents of water around 
their mouths, in order to bring food within their reach. A 
good example of these animals is the hydra, which is found 
in fresh water. It mav be described as consisting of nothing 
but a stomach, with tentacula around its mouth to draw in its 
prey. It is an enormous glutton when it can obtain food, yet 
it will live four months without it. When two hydras contend 
for a worm, the stronger not only swallows the morsel, but 
also his antagonist and his own tentacula ; the two latter, 
however, usually escape without being digested. When this 
animal is turned inside out, as it may be, digestion goes on 
equally well — a power which would be very convenient for 
the biped gormands of the Caucasian race. But the most 
remarkable fact relating to these animals is, their power of 
repairing almost any injury which they receive that does not 
absolutely annihilate them. If they be divided lengthwise 
into several strips, each piece will in a few hours become a 
tube ; and in a day new tentacula will be produced and ready 
for taking in food. Or, by cutting up several hydras, differ- 
ent parts may be made to grow together, and become one 
animal. In this way, every variety of monster which " fancy 
yet has feigned or fear conceived " may be originated ; and 
this is actually the way in which the hydra with seven heads, 
which has often been the occasion of gross imposition, has 
been formed. 



168 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

In the greater number of cases, the simple polypi, that 
have been described, are attached to a stony or horny axis, 
which they themselves secrete and build up. And it is re- 
markable that multitudes unite to build up a habitation with 
the same regularity as if a single will guided them. It is 
a question among naturalists whether, in such a case, the 
individuals that thus combine ought not to be regarded as a 
single animal. In a single specimen of flustra there are 
sometimes more than 18,000 polypi. Each polype has 22 
tentacula and 50 cilise ; so that in the whole specimen there 
are 396,000 tentacula and 39,600,000 cilise. In another 
species, Dr. Grant calculates that there are 400,000,000 of 
cilise. And these are all busy upon that one specimen, of 
only a few square inches. How immense, then, must be the 
number of polypi and their ciliae upon those vast coral struc- 
tures which, in the tropical seas, form reefs several hundred 
miles long ! 

I shall mention here one other physiological fact relating 
to the lower orders of animals, because I believe it to be ex- 
tremely rare, and I happen to have a few specimens to illus- 
trate it. A very few examples are on record in which plants 
of the fungus tribe, such as sphseria and isaria, have been 
known to grow out of the bodies of insects or their -larvee, in 
the West Indies and South America, even while they were yet 
alive. I have specimens from Wisconsin, in which a species 
of sphseria has grown two or three inches long from the head 
of a small grub.*' 

In proceeding onwards through the fields of science, just 
on the borders of the domains of physiology and psychology, 

* For details on this curious subject, see Griffith and Henfrey's Mico- 
graphic Dictionary, article Parasites. 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 169 

two gateways open laterally, through which we catch a 
glimpse of scenery the most enchanting, though the fogs of 
night still rest upon much of it, and the sun, yet but a little 
above the horizon, has not been able to dissipate it. Over 
these gateways is written Phrenology, Mesmerism, and Spir- 
itualism. Shall we pass through them ? I answer, No ; for 
around the entrance I see not a few, whom I recognize as 
veterans in science, arrayed in opposition to one another in 
earnest controversy. On the one side it is maintained that 
these passages lead into regions of knowledge, not only smil- 
ing with flowers, but clustered with golden fruit ; that, in fact, 
here, and here only, are found the clear fountains of intel- 
lectual science. On the other hand, it is said that these pas- 
sages lead only into the regions of fancy and romance ; that 
nothing here is fixed and settled ; «and that a few parhelia and 
rainbows, painted on the clouds and fogs that hover on the 
outskirts of physiology and metaphysics, have been mistaken 
for golden mountains ; in short, that nothing can be found 
in those regions of morass and fog deserving the name of 
science. 

Now, it is not my intention, in this lecture, to enter into a 
discussion of contested principles and facts, but only to state 
those in which the highest authorities are agreed ; and there- 
fore we will pass by phrenology and mesmerism. But I 
must be allowed to make one or two remarks upon the man- 
ner in which these and some other subjects of a scientific 
nature have been treated both in this and other countries. 
As to the truth or falsehood of these subjects, I pretend not 
to decide. I have not studied them thoroughly enough, either 
to advocate or oppose them. But, unless we must discredit 
testimony which would be deemed sufficient to establish the 
truth in any other science, they do present us with many 
15 



170 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

curious and remarkable facts, which, to say the least, are 
explained with great difficulty by ordinary scientific princi- 
ples. Now, what, in such a case, is the course which every 
true philosopher ought to take ? Evidently , if he follow Newton 
and Bacon, he ought to examine those facts calmly, and with 
a scrutiny proportionate to their anomalous and marvellous 
character. The philosophy of those facts is a subsequent 
matter, and should be left untouched till facts enough are col- 
lected to force the mind to theorize ; and very possibly, in 
this case, the real philosopher would decide that he could do 
nothing more than to collect facts, and leave posterity to form 
the theories. But how different from all this has been the 
course pursued in respect to phrenology, mesmerism, and 
spiritualism ! On the one hand, many have become violent 
partisans for the theories before they could be half acquainted 
with the facts, and have set themselves up as leaders and 
oracles in these sciences before they had strength enough to 
sustain for a moment the panoply of philosophy. On the other 
hand, it has been maintained that the facts respecting these 
sciences could not be true, because they conflicted either with 
the principles of sciences already established or with those 
of religion — thus virtually declaring that, nothing new can be 
learned respecting mind or matter. On these grounds, an 
appeal is made to the strongest prejudices and passions of 
human nature against the claims of the new sciences ; and a 
popular odium is thus excited against those who cultivate 
them. The mass of men become afraid of such as innova- 
tors and enemies of religion ; and it requires not a little moral 
courage and attachment to science to induce a man to pur- 
sue his investigations in the face of so much obloquy and 
illiberality. 

But to return from this digression. In treating of compar- 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 



171 



ative anatomy and physiology, already have I glanced at the 
domains of zoology, and brought before you some objects 
from the great menagerie of nature. A few statements, there- 
fore, respecting the number of species and individuals which 
her zoological gardens contain, with a short description of 
one most remarkable class, will be all that I shall attempt. 

It is impossible to give an exact estimate of the number 
of species of animals on the globe that have been actually 
named up to the present moment, because I cannot have 
access to all the works where new ones are being continually 
described. A few years since, however, the number was as 
follows : — 



r Mammalia, 

Birds, 

Chelonians, (tortoises,) 
Vertebrata. \ Saurian Lizards, . . 

Serpents, 

Batrachians, (frogs, &c, 

.Fishes, 

Articulata, ( Vermes, (worms, &c.,) 

or \ Crustacea, (lobsters, &c.,) 

Entomozoa. 1, Hexapoda, (insects,) . 
Mollusca, (shells,) . 
Radiata, or Phytozoa, . 



2,030 

7,000 
120 
460 
300 
175 

8,000 

770 

792 

65,000 

11,482 

4,818 

100,947 



Now, it is certain that this estimate must be very far below 
the actual number of species on the globe, especially in 
respect to the smaller animals. Thus it is stated by a late 
distinguished entomologist, Dr. Harris, that there are six spe- 
cies of insects to every species of plants. And since the 



172 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

number of species of flowering plants already described 
amounts to at least 60,000, the species of insects must ap- 
proach half a million. Indeed, judicious naturalists suppose 
that the species of animals existing on the globe cannot be 
less than a million — perhaps more. 

A few facts respecting the numbers of individuals in par- 
ticular species of animals may give a still deeper impression 
of the extent of the animate creation. And here the recollec- 
tion immediately recurs to those vast swarms of locusts that 
have sometimes laid waste entire kingdoms — shut out the 
sun, as their armies, several feet thick, and miles in width, 
flew through the air. Among fishes, perhaps the shoals of 
herring which* annually migrate southward from the arctic 
seas are the most incredibly numerous. Often these vast bodies 
move in columns that are several leagues in width and many 
fathoms thick, and so close together that they touch one 
another, and sensibly impede ships ; and this stream continues 
to move past any particular spot nearly all summer. In 
Norway, 400,000,000 are annually taken ; near Gottenburg, 
700,000,000 ; and by other nations, " numbers without 
number." 

No less numerous are the tenants of the air. Captain 
Flinders saw a flock of sooty petrels pass over him, in Van 
Diemen's Land, which could not have contained less than 
150,500,000.* But a flock of pigeons which passed over 
Mr. Audubon, on the banks of the Ohio, he estimates at 
no less than 1,000,115,000,000 individuals — which would 
require for their support 8,712,000 bushels of grain per day.f 
The gelatinous animals, called medusae, often small and even 



* Quarterly Review, 1814, p. 27. 

f Jardine's American Ornithology, Vol. II. p. 196. 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 173 

microscopic, swarm in the arctic seas, so as to give a color 
to the water for hundreds of miles ; and a cubic foot of 
water, taken up indiscriminately, was found by Captain 
Scoresby to contain 100,000.* And he estimates that, if 
80,000 persons had been counting since the creation, they 
would not yet have been able to number those that exist in 
the arctic seas at the present moment, f I have already stated 
that the wasp will multiply 30,000 fold in one summer. The 
queen of the termites, or African ant, will deposit 80,000 
eggs in 24 hours. A cyclops, a species of insect, is capable 
of multiplying so prodigiously, that in four months her de- 
scendants would amount to 4500 millions. A single herring 
is capable of depositing from 20,000 to 37,000 eggs ; a carp, 
200,000; the tench, 383,000; and the flounder, 1,000,000. 
But the common oyster might produce 1,200,000; and if 
these were each to become a full-grown oyster, they would 
fill 1200 barrels. 

The last tribe of animals, called animalcula, or infusoria, 
which are all microscopic, present examples of increase still 
more surprising. Indeed, the splendid discoveries of the 
Prussian naturalist Ehrenberg have disclosed a world of 
wonders in the microscopic department of nature no less 
astonishing than those brought to light by the telescope. He 
has described no less than 1000 species of animalcula, which 
swim in salt and fresh water, in many of the fluids of the 
living and healthy animal — in short, in all vegetable and 
animal substances, and in the atmosphere. The smallest of 
these animals are not more than one forty thousandth of an 
inch in diameter ; and so thickly are they sometimes crowded 
together, that a small drop of fluid contains 500,000,000, or 

* Roget, Vol. I. p. 143. f Kirby, p. 450. 

15* 



174 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

nearly as many as the human beings on the globe. Formerly 
it was supposed that these animals were little more than 
simple particles of matter, endowed with vitality. But 
Ehrenberg has ascertained that they possess mouths, teeth, 
stomachs, muscles, nerves, glands, eyes, — - and in short, all the 
important organs of the more perfect animals. Some species 
have from one hundred to two hundred sacs or stomachs con- 
nected with an intestinal canal ; and the thickness of the 
membrane that lines these stomachs he estimates at one fifty 
millionth part of an inch. 

The rate at which these animals multiply is prodigious. 
An individual of the hydatina senta had increased, in ten 
days, to a million ; in eleven days, fo four millions ; and in 
twelve days, to sixteen millions. But this is moderate, com- 
pared with another species, which is capable of multiplying, 
in four days, to one hundred and seventy billions ! 

But perhaps the most remarkable facts remain yet to be 
mentioned. Minute as these animalcula are, they are covered 
with a case or shield, composed either of pure silex or oxide 
of iron ; and when the animal dies, these shields are depos- 
ited at the bottom of the water. In this way, incredible 
though it may appear, have beds of silicious or ferruginous 
matter been accumulated, many feet thick, which has been 
sometimes changed in part into solid rock. The polishing slate, 
for instance, a kind of rotten stone near Bilin, in Germany, 
is entirely composed of these skeletons, 14 feet in thickness ; 
and another bed of infusorial earth, near Lunenburg, is 
more than 28 feet thick. Yet it requires 41,000 millions of 
these skeletons to make a cubic inch, which weighs 220 
grains. So that a single skeleton weighs the 187 millionth 
part of a grain. Many of the hardest minerals, such as flint 
and opal, have been found to be composed of the same re- 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 175 

mains ; and bog iron ore is said to have a similar origin. A 
kind of silicious marl, similar to that from Bilin, exists prob- 
ably in almost every town in New England, beneath peat 
bogs. In some places, in Massachusetts, this deposit, mixed 
with a little clay, is fifteen feet thick ; and in Virginia are 
beds of fossil animalcula from twelve to twenty-five feet thick. 

We have now arrived at the ne plus ultra of the animal 
kingdom, and yet who can tell what new mysteries will be 
unfolded by future improvements in optical instruments ? I 
turn, therefore, to the vegetable world, — literally a flowery 
field, — and yet I shall have time to refer to only a very few 
facts, abundant as they are. 

A moderate estimate of the number of species already 
described in the vegetable kingdom makes it 69,403. Of 
these, 9100 are flowerless, and their structure is cellular ; 
such as mosses, lichens, fungi, and sea weeds. 60,303 have 
regular flowers, and they have a vascular structure. Of 
the latter class, 10,629 are monocotyledons, and 49,674 are 
dicotyledons. 

The largest known flower is the Rafflesia Arnoldii, a para- 
sitic plant, a sort of vine, that bears a flower three and a 
half feet in diameter, growing in Sumatra. 

Microscopic plants are no less abundant and remarkable 
than microscopic animals. Indeed, many of those which I 
have described as belonging to the infusoria are regarded as 
plants by some of the ablest naturalists. 

In the Alps, as well as in high latitudes, the snow has 
sometimes a red color ; and it is found to proceed from the 
presence of a minute fungus, the hcemato coccus nivalis. 
The snow seems to be the soil natural to its growth. It is 
said to be associated with living infusoria, which die when 
the snow melts. 



176 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

A still more remarkable fact is, that fermentation is, in most 
cases, the result of the growth of a fungus called the yeast 
plant, the vinegar plant, &c, or torula cerevisiaz. The cells 
of this plant multiply rapidly by the decomposition of the sub- 
stances in a state of fermentation, and hence the evolution of 
carbonic acid. The cells of this yeast plant are from one 
twenty-four hundredth to one three thousandth of an inch in 
diameter. Whether the process of digestion in the animal 
stomach consists of the same process, does not yet seem to 
be determined ; but there is certainly great similarity in the 
processes. Should digestion come into the same category, it 
would be indeed a marvellous development. 

Crystallography and mineralogy might furnish abundant 
materials for my subject ; but want of time compels me to pass 
them by ; and I can only add a few things from geology — a 
science so abounding in marvels that a late popular writer 
denominates his work on that subject the Wonders of Geology. 

A careful examination of all the rocks in the earth's crust, 
accessible to man, results in the conclusion, that the whole 
crust of the globe — at least several miles thick, and probably 
to its centre — has undergone an entire change, and most of 
the rocks several changes, since their creation. The unstrat- 
ified rocks, which probably form the whole of the interior of 
the globe, have been melted, as all admit. The stratified class, 
lying above the unstratified, have been worn from the latter, 
and then deposited in water. Afterwards, they have been 
solidified by heat, and some of them so nearly melted as to 
become crystallized, constituting the metamorphic rocks. The 
loose materials now covering the surface have also been sub- 
sequently worn off by atmospheric and aqueous agencies, 
from whatever rocks were exposed. So that probably no 
particle in the earth has now the form in which it was origi- 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 177 

nally created. How different this from the common views of 
the earth's condition ! 

A second conclusion, forced upon the practical geologist, 
is, that the continents of our globe have been for long periods, 
and most of them several times, beneath the ocean, and have 
been subsequently elevated from thence, or the waters have 
been drained off. At least two thirds of these continents 
are covered by rocks, thousands of feet thick, abounding in 
the remains of sea animals and plants, which lived near where 
they are now found, and could not have been drifted far. To 
accumulate materials, with their fossil contents, several miles 
thick, must have required immense periods of time. The 
fractured and upturned condition of most of the older rocks 
proves that they have been elevated by some internal force, 
acting vertically or laterally, to form continents. But in 
some places the strata, especially the newest, have never 
been disturbed, and in such cases it seems most probable that 
the waters have been drained off. Again, we have evidence 
often of the subsidence of the same continent that had long 
been above the waters, and then a second emergence. Nay, 
three, and even more vertical movements of this sort are 
sometimes shown by the geological monuments. Indeed, we 
have proof that existing continents are now experiencing sim- 
ilar changes, in some places rising, and in others falling, yet 
so slowly as to be unnoticed, save by the most careful ob- 
servation. 

These vertical changes have not been effected without 
causing a vast amount of erosion at the earth's surface. 
While the continents were below the ocean, this work was 
aided in high latitudes by enormous icebergs, charged with 
boulders, and driven by the currents along the surface, 
grinding down its salient parts, and sweeping along the 



178 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

abraded materials, even hundreds of miles from their original 
beds. The grooves and polished surfaces thus produced still 
remain in such countries as the northern parts of the United 
States, Scotland, and Scandinavia, wherever the rock has not 
been decomposed, and the huge boulders lie every where 
strewed along the course of these ancient icebergs. 

As the continents rose, lakes and rivers would be formed, 
whose currents would bring together and accumulate those 
large deposits of sand and gravel, which in our country show 
themselves in the form of old beaches, ridges, and terraces, 
which can be found at least two thousand feet above the pres- 
ent ocean, and which attest unequivocally the former presence 
of the ocean, and the gradual drainage of the land. 

The amount of abrasion by these various causes has been 
very great. In Great Britain, — in South Wales, for instance, 
— nearly ten thousand feet in thickness have been worn away. 
Indeed* it is a moderate estimate to say that more matter has 
been swept into the ocean from England and Scotland than 
now remains above the waters. The same is doubtless true 
in this country, although the observations here have not been 
so accurately made. 

How deeply interesting to every ingenuous mind must it be 
to trace out on the earth's surface the marks of these stupen- 
dous and wonderful changes ! They lie scattered along every 
man's path ; yet how few have an eye open to see them ! 
How many would prefer the baseless visions of romance to 
these mementos of the earth's wonderful history ! 

But geology has other wonders. Wherever on the globe 
the temperature of deep excavations has been ascertained, — 
and the experiment has been made at hundreds of places in 
Europe and America, both in mines and Artesian wells, to the 
depth of two thousand feet, — the heat has been found to 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 179 

increase at the mean rate of one degree for every forty-five 
feet. At this rate, water would boil at the depth of a little 
more than a mile, and all rocks would be melted at the depth 
of sixty miles. Shall we, therefore, conclude that all the 
internal parts of the earth are actually in an incandescent, 
melted state ? Many of the ablest geologists have not seen 
how they could escape this conclusion, especially when they 
see how it explains the spheroidal figure of the earth ; also 
the phenomena of active and extinct volcanoes ; the protru- 
sion of the unstratified rocks ; the numerous elevations of 
mountains and continents that have taken place, and the fact 
that a tropical climate once prevailed in the northern re- 
gions of the globe, even to the arctic circle. Besides, it 
has been proved by the profound mathematical researches of 
Baron Fourier, that even though all the internal parts of the 
earth, below the depth of eighteen or twenty miles, are five 
hundred times hotter than boiling water, — that is, in a melted 
state, — it would not increase the temperature at the surface 
more than one degree in two hundred thousand years. So 
that even if such be the case, it cannot sensibly affect the 
climate. Although, therefore, it would be presumptive to say 
that this doctrine of internal heat is as well established as the 
Newtonian doctrine of gravitation, yet every candid mind 
will acknowledge that it bears the strongest marks of proba- 
bility, and that it lacks but little of being placed among the 
settled principles of science. And yet what an immense and 
startling conclusion ! 

Still more certainly demonstrated is another related con- 
clusion, viz., that the whole globe in early times was in a 
melted state, and has been slowly cooling ever since. It is 
certain that its internal parts are now at a higher temperature 
than the surface, and that the planetary space around the 



180 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

earth is as low as 70° below zero on Fahrenheit's scale. The 
laws of heat show, therefore, that the process of refrigeration 
must be now going on, and however little heat now escapes, 
it increases as we run backward through past ages, until we 
reach a period when it must have been great enough to have 
melted all known substances. And .that such a state of things 
once existed, the character of the rocks demonstrates. For it 
is agreed on all hands that all the unstratifled formations were 
once melted. Almost equally unanimous is the opinion that 
the stratified rocks, whether crystalline or sedimentary, were 
derived chiefly by abrasion from the unstratifled. The sphe- 
roidal figure of the earth, exactly such as would be taken by 
a fluid globe revolving with the velocity of the earth, confirms 
this conclusion. And so do the facts as to the tropical and 
ultra-tropical character of the organic remains in the older 
rocks in high latitudes. Original fluidity and subsequent re- 
frigeration are seemingly the only theory that will explain the 
elevation and subsidence of continents and mountain ranges. 
Moreover, the slow passage of worlds from a liquid and even 
a gaseous to a solid state, seems to be a law of the material 
universe. So that really the evidence appears to be over- 
whelming, to prove the early igneous fluidity of the earth. 
And scientific men will not long hesitate, if some of them now 
do, to place this among the demonstrated verities of philoso- 
phy, as the basis of reasoning in physics and in religion. 

But after all, probably the history of the remains of animals 
and plants, found buried hundreds and thousands of feet deep 
in the rocks, and often converted into stone, is generally re- 
garded as the most interesting part of geology. In Great 
Britain the rocks containing these relics are from ten to 
eleven miles thick, and in this country much thicker. Not 
less than 30,000 species of animals and plants have already 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 181 

been found in the rocks ; and with the exception of a few 
near the top of the series, chiefly in clay and marl, they are 
different, often widely, from those now living on the globe ; 
and hence the conclusion seems irresistible, that the fossil 
species must have lived and died before the present races had 
a being. Moreover, on comparing together the remains in 
the different groups of rocks, they are found to be so entirely 
unlike as to prove that they could not have been contempo- 
raries ; and hence the conclusion is, that several successive 
groups of animals and plants have been created, and after 
occupying the earth for a long period, have been destroyed 
to make room for another group, better fitted to the altered 
condition of the surface ; and that at least five or six changes 
of this sort took place before the creation of man and his con- 
temporaries. Nor do geologists suppose that this view con- 
flicts with revelation. For although Moses fixes the date of 
the creation of the present races of organic beings on the 
earth, which appeared about 6000 years ago, he does not fix 
the time of the creation of the globe ; which he says took 
place in the beginning, — a term perfectly indefinite as to 
time, — and therefore between that event and the appearance 
of men upon it, immense periods might have rolled away, 
during which the fossil races might have lived and died. And 
that those periods must have been immensely long, no one 
conversant with the details of geology can doubt, although 
the proof cannot be here given. What enlarged and refresh- 
ing views does this theory exhibit to us of the plans and be- 
nevolence of the Deity ! 

Another interesting conclusion on this subject is, that when 
these fossil animals and plants lived, the climate of these 
northern regions must have been tropical, or even ultra-trop- 
ical. They are often much larger than their representatives 
16 



182 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

of the same races that now live between the tropics ; and 
often perfect giants compared with the pygmy races that are 
now found in northern regions. 

Perhaps the most remarkable animal of the saurian tribe 
was the iguanodon — an enormous reptile that lived on land 
and fed on vegetables, and resembled the iguana of the West 
Indies. The average length of this animal was thirty feet, 
and its circumference fourteen feet. I thought it might give 
a more impressive idea of this reptile to exhibit a drawing of 
it of the natural size. (Exhibited in the lecture.) 

I have no doubt but this drawing gives a tolerably accurate 
idea of this huge animal, although of course less perfect than 
if the living specimen had stood before the artist. It shows 
you what sort of inhabitants had possession of Great Britain 
before the Anglo-Saxons. The largest analogous reptile now 
living there is only a few inches in length. How different 
must have been the climate and vegetation of that country 
from what they now are, to nourish such monsters ! I do not 
think there is any evidence that this animal was very ferocious 
and savage, and therefore I have had his organ of benevo- 
lence drawn large. Nevertheless, I confess that the drawing 
strongly reminds me of Milton's description of Satan : — 

"With head uplift above the waves, 
That sparkling blazed, his other parts besides 
Prone on the flood, extended long and large, 
Lay floating many a rood, in bulk as huge 
As whom the fables name of monstrous size, 
Titanian or earth-born, that warred on Jove ; 
Briareos, or Typhon, whom the den 
By ancient Tarsus held, or that sea beast, 
Leviathan, whom God of all his works 
Created hugest that swim the ocean stream." 

In the valley of Connecticut River especially, but also in 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 183 

several other places in this country, and in Europe, the tracks 
of a large number of animals have been found in the sand- 
stone, and some of them are of an extraordinary character. 
In Massachusetts and Connecticut, not less than sixty species 
have been brought to light, twelve or fifteen of which were 
made by four-legged, but the rest by two-legged animals ; 
and some of these must have been as gigantic and heteroclitic 
as any that have been disinterred in any country. Some of 
them appear to have been three-toed birds, with feet sixteen 
to eighteen inches long, with a stride from four to six feet. 
Another was a biped, with four toes, and a foot about twenty 
inches long — apparently a two-legged frog, with a foot two 
or three times as large as that of an elephant ! Another track 
indicates an animal with three forward toes some fifteen inches 
long, and a small hind toe ; and though a biped, its tail has 
left a distinct trace on the rock. Such animals have no rep- 
resentatives among living races, yet they were once common 
along this river. 

With what interest and enthusiasm does the antiquary open 
and attempt to decipher and arrange the mutilated rolls of 
some ancient papyrus that has just been brought to light, and 
whose contents reveal a new and an earlier chapter in a na- 
tion's history, or tell of the former existence of some race 
before unknown ! Shall not the geologist be pardoned if he 
indulges some of the same feelings when he discovers and can 
read, even though imperfectly, archives of far more ancient 
date, bring fresh before his mind races of animals, new and 
peculiar, that tenanted the globe untold ages before man be- 
came its possessor ? If an event becomes more interesting 
the farther it is thrown back into the past, geological facts 
must in this respect take the precedence of all others. For 
the most ancient event in chronology — the six days' work of 



184 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

creation — I had almost said is the most recent in geology. 
From thence we wander back through a duration which can 
be measured only by the succession of events, and not by 
chronological cycles, except to ascertain from existing agen- 
cies that the intervening periods have been vastly long. Then, 
too, the records, which the geologist digs from the rocks, of 
animal and vegetable existence at immeasurably remote pe- 
riods, are often as fresh as if intombed yesterday. Their 
most delicate parts — even the eye in some instances — are 
as perfect as when the animal was alive, and the footmarks, 
which he sees following one another in succession, are as dis- 
tinct as those of living animals passing over the mud or snow 
before his eyes ; while the pattering of a shower, that fell on 
the same surface thousands of ages ago, is as fresh before him 
as if every drop had been instantly petrified. 

How many millions of men have spent their days, and final- 
ly sacrificed their lives, in order to leave some memento of 
their labors that would go down to posterity ! and yet not a 
vestige of their existence remains upon the earth ! But the 
birds and reptiles that passed over the surface long before the 
globe was fit for the residence of man, have left marks of 
their transit which can never be effaced. The proudest mon- 
uments of human art will moulder down and disappear ; but 
as long as there are eyes to behold them, the sandstone of the 
Connecticut valley will never cease to remind future genera- 
tions of the gigantic races that passed over it when in a half 
formed state. 

Reptiles and birds, a problem ye have solved 
Man never has — to leave a trace on earth 
Too deep for time and fate to wear away. 

It would be appropriate to my subject to indulge the imagi- 



WITH 1HE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 185 

nation, for a few moments, in viewing science prospectively ; 
that is, in predicting from its past history its future triumphs. 
But I am admonished that your patience has already been 
severely taxed, and can, therefore, only allude to a very few 
prospective applications of science to the welfare and happi- 
ness of society. 

Notwithstanding the wonders which steam is accomplishing 
in our day, whoever will compare the description of the first 
steam engine invented by the Marquis of Worcester, in 1663, 
with those which now sweep with giant strength over land and 
sea, will be satisfied that it has still greater triumphs to achieve. 
But the chemist is conversant with several agents of analogous 
character, but of far greater power ; and he cannot but con- 
fidently expect that the time is not distant when some of 
these will take the place of steam ; because safer, more pow- 
erful, less costly, and more easily managed. Indeed, I know 
of but one thing, and that is the resistance of the air, that will 
prevent the attainment of a velocity by the locomotive and the 
boat indefinitely greater than that now attained. 

If a lecturer twenty years ago had predicted what is now 
daily witnessed in hundreds of electric telegraph offices, he 
would have been looked upon as a visionary dreamer. I well 
remember how I trembled for my reputation as a sane man, 
when I uttered the following sentence, in a lecture written 
about the time of the earliest experiments with the telegraph 
by Professor Wheatstone in England, and Professor Morse in 
this country : " There is every reason to believe," I said, 
" that by Professor Morse's telegraph, which he has already 
tried over an extent of a mile or two, information will be con- 
veyed as fast as a printer can set up types. So that were 
such a train laid between Washington and this place, [Salem,] 
the president's message, or any interesting speech, might be 
16* 



186 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

in print at an office here within an hour or two after its de- 
livery." Such a result is now so constantly realized, that it 
has ceased to excite any special attention, and the civilized 
world are now confidently anticipating the time as near at 
hand when these marvellous wires shall encircle the globe, 
and two or three hours suffice to bring intelligence from the 
antipodes. 

What we may reasonably anticipate from the extraordinary 
developments of photography, it is difficult to say. It would 
not be very strange, however, if by combining galvanism with 
photography, the same picture, which is sketched by the sun's 
chemical rays, should be engraved by electricity. Indeed, an 
approximation to such a result has already been attained. 

Since chemists can ascertain the elements of the most use- 
ful substances, the prospect seems fair that they will be able 
to unite these elements yet more extensively than they have 
done, so as to form the substances. And, indeed, within a 
few years they have ascertained that linen rags, by the action 
of a cheap acid, will produce more than their weight of sugar, 
and that a coarse but palatable bread can be made of saw 
dust. Who can tell how soon the time may come when the 
poor man will only need to purchase a cord of wood to sup- 
ply his family with bread during the winter ? * 

The fear has often been indulged that many of the colder 
countries of the globe must ultimately become nearly unin- 
habitable, from a failure of fuel. An application of a geo- 
logical discovery in Germany has, it seems to me, thrown a 
gleam of light on this point. The rapid increase of heat as 
we descend into the earth, and the ease with which Artesian 
wells are formed to a great depth, led a manufacturer to bore 

* Herschel's Discourse, &c, p. 48. 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 187 

one, that he might bring warm water to keep his machinery 
free from ice during the winter. Not only did he succeed in 
this object, but by conducting the water in open pipes through 
his whole establishment, it gave off heat enough to render 
fires unnecessary. Is not here an inexhaustible source of heat 
accessible to human industry and ingenuity ? 

In my view, the most interesting thought connected with 
anticipated improvements in science and art, is the large 
amount of leisure which will be thereby afforded to the great 
mass of mankind for intellectual and moral improvement. 
But I do not believe that Providence will allow these dis- 
coveries to come out fully till men learn how to improve that 
leisure aright. For if they only foster idleness, they will 
prove a greater curse than a blessing. 

But I forbear, lest I should seem to be venturing too far 
into the regions of the uncertain and the fanciful. 

I have now presented before you specimens, selected from 
the different sciences, of the wonders which they can offer to 
the youthful mind, as a substitute for the wonders of romance. 
And can I doubt what will be the choice of every noble and 
ingenuous soul ? Does it need any analysis of the labors of 
the most celebrated writers of fiction to make every one feel 
how infinitely superior is nature to all their fancies ? And 
science is the history of nature — the history of the works of 
the Deity. And shall the inventions of man come into com- 
petition with the inventions of the Deity ? 

" Nature ! how in every charm supreme ! 
Whose votaries feast on raptures ever new ! 
for the fire and voice of seraphim, 
To sing thy glories with devotion due ! " 

It has not been my intention to make this audience ac- 



188 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COB1PARED 

quainted with the sciences upon which I have touched. But 
I wished to give a sample of the wonders that will meet him 
at every step, who resolutely engages in the study of any de- 
partment of science. I say a sample only ; for the farther 
he advances, the more enchanting will the prospect become, 
and the richer and more plenteous the gems that will reward 
his search. But not so with the devotee of romance. Though 
for a time he may seem to be quaffing nectar, yet, ere long, 
to use the graphic language of inspiration, it shall even he as 
when a hungry man dreameth, and behold he eateth ; but he 
awaketh, and his soul is empty : or as when a thirsty man 
dreameth, and behold he drinketh ; but he awaketh, and behold 
he is faint, and his soul hath appetite. 

Will it not be pardoned if one who for thirty years has been 
almost constantly engaged in the examination of nature should 
bear testimony, from his own experience, to the charms and 
pleasures of science ? I know it would be vanity for me to 
pretend to a profound acquaintance with science, or to distinc- 
tion in it. But I cannot feel that it is vanity to profess a strong 
attachment to it. Indeed, how ungrateful in me not to rec- 
ommend with enthusiasm that which has spread before me 
so many and such delightful prospects along the path of life ; 
which has furnished a delightful retreat from the agitations 
and vexations of the world ; which has thrown so many gleams 
of light into the darkest part of my path ; which has led me 
to many a clear and sparkling fountain, and permitted me to 
breathe an atmosphere of peace and happiness ! Often have 
I known the time, when, through feeble health, the languid eye 
looked out with indifference, if not absolute disgust, upon all 
the ordinary objects of life ; but never has a view of nature, 
dressed in the garb of science, failed to rally back the sinking 
powers, relume the leaden eye, and diffuse animation and joy 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 189 

through the soul. A distinguished writer of fiction and false 
philosophy, in chagrin and disgust, expressed a regret that l.e 
had ever been born. But leaving every thing else out of the 
account, I can bless the day in which I was born, because I 
have enjoyed so much in studying the works of nature. And 
when I see so many noble-minded youth placing all their 
hopes of earthly happiness, some in the hot strife after polit- 
ical distinction, some in the possession of wealth, equipage, 
and power, some in following the tasteless round of fashion- 
able amusements, and above all, when I see some whose 
chief source of happiness lies in a devoted attachment to fic- 
titious literature, how gladly would I win them into those fields 
of science, at which we have this evening glanced, and thus 
save them from the disappointment and disgust which I know 
they will ere long experience, and which may lead them also 
to lament that they were ever born ! 

Many, many are the bright eyes that are turned upon me 
at this moment ; eyes sparkling with health and hope. Must 
any of these be palsied by the withering touch of such disap- 
pointment ? O, if their possessors will not place their hopes 
of happiness in factitious and unnatural pursuits, but in a 
knowledge and a love of nature, they will have a refuge amid 
all the storms and fluctuations of life, and those eyes may be 
bright and sparkling even amid the frosts of age. 

"0, how canst thou renounce the boundless store 
Of charms which Nature to her votary yields ? — 
The warbling woodland, the resounding shore, 
The pomp of groves, and garniture of fields ; 
All that the genial ray of morning gilds, 
And all that echoes to the song of even ; 
All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields, 
And all the dread magnificence of heaven : — 

0, how canst thou renounce and hope to be forgiven ! " 



190 THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE COMPARED 

I would not undervalue other sources of happiness, which 
are mercifully provided for us in this world. I only wish to 
show that the pursuit of science, as a means of happiness, 
has strong claims upon the attention ; that it does not interfere 
with any other innocent enjoyment ; that it is able effectually 
to overcome that appetite for artificial excitement and dissipa- 
tion which makes so many miserable ; that it furnishes in 
youth a rich fund of happiness ; to the man in middle life, a 
delightful relaxation from business and professional duties ; 
and that, unlike most other sources of enjoyment, the relish 
for it grows stronger by age, so that in advanced life, when 
the common objects of life cease to interest, those of science 
still possess the charm of novelty. 

Let me not, however, be understood to imply that there are 
not pursuits and pleasures of a more noble and satisfying 
character than even those of science. I would not bring them 
into competition with the results of active benevolence and 
piety. But the two pursuits are not inconsistent with each 
other ; and he who chooses can make the pleasures of both 
his own. Such a man has reached the highest point of earth- 
ly happiness. For every wonder of science now becomes 
invested with the double interest of being beautiful in itself 
and an exhibition of divine wisdom. And then, what de- 
lightful anticipations crowd upon his mind ! He soon learns 
that even the veteran in science can obtain but little more 
than a glimpse of nature in this world, and that much cloud 
and darkness rest upon the brightest spots. Yet he knows 
that the works of the Deity will form objects of study in a 
future state, where nothing intercepts the pure rays of truth, 
and that those works are vast enough to fill and feast the soul 
through the round of eternal ages. Such hopes as these con- 
stitute the true nobility of man : — 



WITH THE WONDERS OF ROMANCE. 191 

" For how great 
To mingle interests, converge, amities, 
With all the sons of reason scattered wide 
Through habitable space, wherever born ! 
To call heaven's rich, unfathomable mines 
Our own ! To rise in science as in bliss ! 
To read creation, read its mighty plan, 
In the bare bosom of the Deity ! 
In an eternity, what scenes shall strike ! 
Adventures thicken ! novelties surprise ! 
What webs of wonder shall unravel there ! 
What full day pour on all the paths of heaven, 
And light th' Almighty's footsteps in the deep ! " 

Young, N 6. 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S 
CREATION. 



And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed 
into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. 

Genesis ii. 7. 

Sceptical minds are fond of selecting and giving prom- 
inence to those facts, historical or scientific, that have an un- 
favorable bearing upon religion. This is natural ; and why 
should not the friends of religion sometimes illustrate subjects 
derived from the same fields, which strengthen our faith, and 
clarify our views of the great principles of natural and re- 
vealed truth ? Guided by this principle, I propose this morn- 
ing to discuss the religious bearings of man's creation. 

Of this event we have two records ; the one revealed, the 
other scientific. Let us look at the details of both, and then 
we shall be able to see the religious relations of the subject. 

The scriptural account of man's creation is full, explicit, 
and peculiar ; more so than any other event of the six days' 
work. I shall call your attention to a few only of the prom- 
inent facts therein developed ; particularly such as have a 
parallel in the scientific history of our world. 

1. Revelation teaches us that man was the last of the ani- 
mals created. 

None of them were produced till the fifth day, when the 

(192) 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATIQN. 193 

waters were commanded to bring forth abundantly the mov- 
ing creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the 
earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created 
great whales, and every living thing that moveth, which the 
waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and every 
winged fowl after his kind. At the beginning of the sixth 
day, God also said, Let the earth bring forth the living crea- 
ture after his kind, cattle and creeping thing and beast of 
the earth after his kind. Next follows, as the closing act of 
the demiurgic week, the introduction of man. 

If we turn now to the scientific history of our race, we 
shall find essentially the same account of its origin as revela- 
tion presents. If Science cannot say positively that man was 
the very last of the animals created, she can and does say, 
that he was among the most recent The arguments to prove 
this point are exceedingly simple and satisfactory. The chief 
one is this : — 

We find rocks in various places on the earth to have accu- 
mulated in the course of past ages, to the depth of eight or 
ten miles, and in them we find buried the remains of the ani- 
mals and plants that lived at the different periods when the 
successive strata were formed. Many new species were in- 
troduced from time to time, but nowhere on the globe do we 
discover human remains till we rise to the newest formations ; 
not in fact till we reach the loose covering of soil, clay, and 
gravel spread over the surface, and called alluvium, whose 
lower part has been more usually denominated drift, or dilu- 
vium. This deposit is never more than a few hundred feet 
thick, usually not over one or two hundred ; and I know of no 
example in which it is pretended that human bones occur as 
deep below the surface as one hundred feet. Yet the whole 
depth of rock from which animal remains have been dug out 
17 



194 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

is between 50,000 and 60,000 feet, and at least 30,000 spe- 
cies of animals differing from any now alive have been dis- 
interred in the rocks. Yet man is not among them. But no 
reason can be given why he is not, had he lived in any of the 
periods before the alluvial ; for his bones, being composed of 
the same materials as those of other animals, would be no 
more subject to decay than theirs ; as is proved, in fact, by 
their appearance upon ancient battle fields, where they lie 
mingled with those of horses and elephants. 

The precise period when man first appeared on earth has 
been a question of deep interest among scientific men, and 
their eyes have been wide open to every fact bearing upon 
the subject. In earlier times, when comparative anatomy was in 
its infancy, the bones of other animals were mistaken for those 
of man, and in one case a fossil man was announced quite 
deep in the rocks, which turned out, beneath the scrutinizing 
glance of Cuvier, to be a gigantic salamander ; and the bones 
of mammoths were in Switzerland regarded as those of giants, 
and in England as those of the fallen angels. But since com- 
parative anatomy has applied to fossil bones principles and 
modes of investigation little less certain than those of math- 
ematics, every able geologist has abandoned the expectation 
of finding human remains below the superficial deposits, the 
lowest of which are, in a geological sense, very recent. In 
the words of Sir Charles Lyell, " If there be a difference of 
opinion respecting the occurrence in certain deposits of the 
remains of man and his works, it is always in reference to 
strata confessedly of the most modern order ; and it is never 
pretended that our race coexisted with assemblages of animals 
and plants of which all, or even a large proportion of the spe- 
cies, are extinct." - 

It is well known that geologists have divided those loose 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN^S CREATION. 195 

deposits that cover the surface, and are more or less confused- 
ly mingled together, into two formations, the lowest called 
drift or diluvium, and the highest called alluvium. That hu- 
man remains exist in the latter no one doubts, though it may 
be a question whether they fall into the class properly called 
fossils. But the main question is, Do any of these remains 
occur as low as the drift ? On this question we shall find 
some diversity of opinion. But here let me make one or two 
preliminary remarks. The first is, that geologists are not at 
all agreed where drift ends and alluvium begins ; so that what 
one calls drift, another calls alluvium. Nor do I believe it 
possible to fix a line of demarcation between them, just be- 
cause no such line exists in nature. With Professor Pictet, 
Sir Charles Lyell, and others, I believe that we ought to con- 
sider drift and alluvium as forming a single series, and that 
life has not been interrupted, or entirely renewed, but only 
some species destroyed during its deposition. 

Another remark is, that in my own opinion, 4he causes 
producing drift are still in operation, as well as those pro- 
ducing alluvium ; and that, in fact, the two classes of causes 
have had a parallel operation from the first ; and, therefore, 
the two formations should be regarded as contemporaneous, 
rather than successive. From the earliest times, glaciers, ice- 
bergs, waves of translation, and landslips have been forming 
drift, and are still forming it. And so the oceans, lakes, and 
rivers have ever been at work to deposit alluvium. I admit 
that these causes have not always acted with equal intensity, 
and that the greater part of drift is anterior to the great body 
of alluvium. But admitting any degree of parallelism in the 
operation of these causes, the discovery of human remains in 
drift does not necessarily show them to be of great antiquity. 
Their age can be settled only by settling that of the deposit 



196 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

in which they occur. Moreover, from this unsettled state of 
opinion as to these formations, it does not follow, because one 
observer announces human remains in drift, that others would 
admit them to belong to that deposit. When such announce- 
ments, therefore, are made, we should draw no inference as 
to the antiquity of the remains till the discoverer has told us 
what he means by drift. 

I ought, perhaps, to add, that there is a like want of agree- 
ment among able writers in the meaning which they attach to 
the term fossil. Originally it included every thing, mineral 
as well as organic, dug from the earth. Says one distin- 
guished writer, " Geologists now use the word only to express 
the remains of animals and plants found buried in the earth." 
— Lyell. Says another, "An organized fossil body is one 
which has been buried in the earth at an undetermined epoch, 
and has been preserved, or left there unequivocal traces of 
its existence." — M. Deshayes. A third defines a fossil as 
" every organized body, or vestige of it, found naturally 
buried in the earth's strata, in a state different from the nor- 
mal and actual conditions of existence." — M. D' Orbigny. 
A fourth applies the word fossil to " every organic body found 
naturally buried in the earth, which has been preserved, or 
has left traces not doubtful of its existence ; provided that the 
deposit in which it occurs has been formed under the influence 
of circumstances different from those now passing before our 
eyes." — M. Pictet.* 

Now, some writers have taken it for granted, that if they 
can only make out that man is found in a fossil state, he must 
have lived before Adam. But until the meaning of this term 

* Traite de Paleontologie, par Professeur F. J. Pictet, Tome Premier, p. 
17. See also Lehrbuch der Geognosie, von Dr. Carl Friedrich Naumann, 
Erster Band, p. 812. Dr. Naumann's views correspond essentially with 
those of Sir Charles Lyell. 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN^S CREATION. 197 

can be made more definite than it now is, a fossil man is not 
necessarily preadamic. He may not even be antediluvian. 

Let us now look briefly at the most remarkable examples 
of organic remains that have been thought to prove the great 
antiquity of the human race, if not geologically, yet chrono- 
logically considered. 

In the British Museum, and the Royal Cabinet in Paris, are 
specimens of human skeletons from Guadaloupe, in solid rock, 
hard as marble. To a person unfamiliar with rocks, these 
seem very striking examples of fossil men. But in fact this 
rock is daily forming in all the West Indian Archipelago, by 
the cementation of fragments of corals and shells worn off 
and collected by the waves ; and it is not probable that these 
individual specimens are more than a few hundred years old 
— the skeletons perhaps of Caribs or Galibis, who fought a 
battle on the spot where they were found, about the beginning 
of the eighteenth century. 

The most numerous examples of human bones, supposed to 
be fossil, occur in limestone caverns, buried in mud, or stal- 
agmite, with the bones of other animals, recent and extinct. 
Such cases are described in Greece, in several places in the 
south of France, in Belgium, in England, and in Brazil. The 
bones are usually separated from one another, and mixed up 
with those of extinct species of rhinoceroses, hyenas, bears, 
and other terrestrial quadrupeds, as well as with those of liv- 
ing species. Still more recently human remains have been 
found in the Suabian Alps, in connection with those of the 
mastodon, though I cannot say whether these occur in caverns. 

Now, in regard to all such cases, several considerations 
should lead us to be very cautious in inferring that man, and 
the extinct animals found in such circumstances, were con- 
temporaries. For, in the first place, these caverns were, for 
17* 



198 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

the most part, formed by subterranean streams, which carried 
the bones into them from without, and, therefore, those of 
widely different periods might have been mixed together. 
Again, earthquakes often produce great changes in these 
streams, and mix up confusedly alluvium and drift. Once 
more, such caverns have in various periods been tenanted by 
man ; and there has he buried his dead, while succeeding 
generations have dug up their bones, and mixed them with 
those of the extinct animals. We need not wonder, there- 
fore, that the most cautious geologists have hesitated to admit 
that in any of the cases yet described, the evidence compels 
us to believe that the human remains were deposited at the 
same time with those of extinct hyenas, bears, and mastodons. 
In the language of Sir Charles Lyell, " It is not on the evi- 
dence of such intermixtures that we ought readily to admit, 
either the high antiquity of the human race, or the recent 
data of certain lost species of quadrupeds." 

In our own country several examples of fossil men have 
been announced, of late, with much confidence. At Natchez, 
it is said that a human pelvis was found in clay, beneath 
" a diluvial deposit ; " in Florida, a jaw and foot in a con- 
glomerate coral reef, limestone, said to be at least ten thou- 
sand years old ; another beneath four ancient cypress swamps, 
near New Orleans, sixteen feet below the surface, whose pe- 
riod of sepulture has been put at 57,600 years ago. 

Every practical geologist knows well how extremely uncer- 
tain are all such calculations of the time requisite to form an 
alluvial deposit of a given thickness ; first, because we have 
so very few data for comparison, and secondly, because the 
work is so very different in some places from what it is in 
others. Moreover, the many causes by which the remains of 
recent animals might become mixed with the extinct ones, 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 109 

render it necessary to scrutinize all such cases as the above, 
with extreme care, before we can confidently assign a very- 
high antiquity to these supposed fossils ; and accordingly, 
most of the ablest geologists, who have carefully examined 
the facts in these examples, are not convinced of their reli- 
ableness. 

But suppose we admit all that is claimed in the cases that 
have been stated, viz., that human remains do occur in such 
situations as to prove that man was a contemporary of some 
of the extinct races of animals — will this prove a higher an- 
tiquity to man than the Bible allows ? 

Not necessarily, I reply ; for we have undoubted proof 
that since the biblical epoch of man's creation, several large 
animals have disappeared from the globe. In New Zealand, 
for instance, no less than eleven species of gigantic birds, and 
several other species in Madagascar, Rodriguez, and Bourbon, 
have become extinct, probably within a few hundred years. 
For we find their half burned bones mixed with those of man 
on spots which were once the scenes of cannibal feasts. How 
false the inference which should hence make these human 
bones of very great antiquity, because found among extinct 
animals ! Again, the great mastodon of this country often 
occurs buried in our peat swamps, as at Newburg, only a 
few'feet below the surface ; and apparently, therefore, this 
animal did not perish till a very late epoch in the alluvial pe- 
riod ; nor is it possible to show that it may not have been 
alive since the fifth day's work of creation. Should we then 
even find a human skeleton in the same deposit as that of the 
mastodon, we might still reasonably doubt whether it had a 
preadamic existence. 

I trust that these details will not be regarded as inappro- 
priate on the Sabbath, when it is recollected how important to 



200 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

my object it is to show from science the recent origin of man, 
and what strenuous exertions are made at the present day to 
establish his preadamic existence. I only regret that I cannot 
go more into details, but I feel as if the following positions 
were incontrovertibly established. 

First, that the occurrence of human remains in drift does 
not certainly show man's preadamic existence. 

Secondly, neither is it shown by finding his bones mixed 
with those of some extinct animals. 

But thirdly, there is too much doubt still attached to all 
cases of the supposed antediluvian origin of human remains 
found in the earth, to allow any one to conclude certainly that 
they occur either in ancient drift, or among extinct preadamic 
races, except by accident. 

Yet, fourthly, admitting their occurrence in such circum- 
stances, it is still emphatically true, that according to science, 
man is among the most recent of the animals created, since 
his remains have never been found as low as 100 feet, while 
in the more than 50,000 feet of rock below, abounding with 
other animals, they are not found .* 

* It may gratify some readers, if, in addition to the opinion of Sir Charles 
Lyell, in the text, I add that of a few other eminent geologists, whose writ- 
ings happen to be at hand, respecting the time of man's appearance on the 
globe. 

"It may be stated," says Professor John Phillips, "as a general admis- 
sion, that man did not exist on the globe during the secondary and probably 
not during the epoch of eocene and pleiocene formations, and that sufficient 
evidence for his coexistence in northern climes with the mammoths and hip- 
popotami is yet wanting ; but as the races of oxen, horses, camels, &c, had 
then begun to exist, it is not, perhaps, an unreasonable expectation that, 
eventually, this question will be decided in the affirmative." — Phillips's 
Manual of Geology, p. 438. London 1855. 

" Does man exist in a fossil state ? " inquires M. Alcide D'Orbigny. " By 
consulting well-established facts, we have no doubt of the truth of the affirma- 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 201 

2. Man, according to the inspired account, was placed at 
the head of all creatures on earth. 

tive, particularly in the sense which we give to the word fossil. (See text, 
p. 196.) Now, since we admit man to be in a fossil condition, we may 
inquire to what epoch his remains belong. The last geological stages — 
the Subapennine and Fahlunien — which preceded the existing epoch, do 
they show any where traces of human remains either in marine or terrestrial 
deposits ? We think we can reply in the negative ; for no well-established 
fact will sustain the opinion that they do occur therein. Human remains 
are peculiar to caverns, or osseous breccias, or alluvions. It follows from 
thence that fossil human remains, whenever they have been carefully ob- 
served, are met with, in all cases, along with other beings of the existing 
epoch, and are fossil in contemporaneous deposits. Human bones are want- 
ing entirely in the two last stages (geological) which have preceded our 
own." — Cours Elementaire de Paleontologie et de Geologie, 8$c 9 par M. 
Alcide D'Orbigny. Premier volume, p. 162. Paris, 1849. 

" Have human fossils been found? Did man appear on the globe before 
the present epoch ? " inquires Professor Pictet. " Such is the important 
question to which modern science seems to give a negative answer, although 
at various times it has been judged otherwise. The true question appears to 
me to be the following : What animals peopled Europe when man first 
appeared, and, by consequent, at what geological period can his origin be 
placed ? All paleontologists, at this day, are agreed that there is no proof 
of his existence during the tertiary epoch or the anterior epochs. All who 
admit the view, which I have elsewhere exhibited, of the relations of the 
diluvial and modern epochs, will know also that this question may be treated 
without prejudice, and according to facts alone. I have shown, in fact, that 
we may probably regard these two periods as forming together a single 
series, during which life has been neither entirely interrupted nor renewed, 
at least in Europe ; and during which partial, local, and successive inunda- 
tions have deposited several formations, destroying only some species." 
After reviewing the facts, Professor Pictet concludes, " 1. That man was not 
established in Europe at the commencement of the diluvial epoch ; 2. That 
some migrations probably took place in the course of the diluvial period ; 
3. That the definite establishment of man in Europe, and the occupation of 
that continent by a numerous population, probably took place after the great 
inundation which deposited the rolled fragments in the caverns and on the 
plains of the continent." — Pictefs Traite de Paleontologie, $$c., Tome 
Premier, p. 145 et seq. Seconde edition. Paris, 1853. 



202 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our 
likeness ; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, 
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all 
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the 
earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image 
of God created he him, male and female created he them,. 
And God Messed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, 
and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it ; and 
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of 
the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the 
earth. 

Who is not struck with the exalted character and office 
assigned to man in this passage by his Creator ? And the 
features of his character that give him this preeminence are 
distinctly stated. It is not his physical organization ; for 
though fearfully made in this respect, he is scarcely superior 
to some of the monkey tribe denominated quadrumanous, or 
even to the mammiferous animals. But his exaltation rests 
on his intellectual and moral powers. That rich sentence, 
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God 
created he him, is full of meaning and interest. The image 
of God ! What is that ? Who would dare apply such lan- 
guage to man, if God had not done it ? A Being of infinite 
moral and intellectual attributes, immaterial and immortal, 
condescends to state, without qualification, that he has stamped 
his own image upon a creature of his hand, and therefore 
gives him dominion over all other creatures in the same world. 
If some of them show a spark of intelligence, not one discov- 
ers a single moral characteristic ; and as to intellect, if any 
of them possess it at all, it is immeasurably inferior to man's. 
If the idiot and the long-degraded savage show a mental heb- 
etude and grossness even inferior to many of the brutes, the 



THE EELIGIOTJS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 203 

proper inference is, not that the race are allied to the quad- 
rumana, but that in such cases the development of mind is 
prevented by natural or artificial obstructions. On the other 
hand, the loftiest exhibition of mental and moral power 
which any of our race have exhibited may be taken as the* 
measure of the intellectual ability of the whole race ; because 
there is every reason to presume that, when man is freed 
from the fetters and clogs that now obstruct the full develop- 
ment of his powers, the mind now apparently the weakest 
will manifest latent powers equal to the strongest. God's 
own image is instamped on every soul ; and though sin and 
sorrow may for a while mar it, or cover it with rubbish, yet 
when it is polished anew by a divine hand, it will shine forth 
in its original freshness and beauty. In a higher sphere, 
where the deteriorating influences of sin are not felt, it will 
be seen how worthy man is to wear the crown of this lower 
world. 

If we place side by side sketches of the heads of the dif- 
ferent races of men, beginning with the Caucasian, and pass- 
ing through the Mongolian, the Malay, and the American, to 
the negro, we find marked and characteristic differences ; and 
if we extend the comparison to the cranium of the orang 
outang, we seem to have proceeded only a little farther on 
a descending scale ; so that, if we judge of the animal by its 
head, we shall be ready, perhaps, to conclude that the lowest 
type in the human series is only slightly elevated above the 
highest on the quadrumanous scale. But this is a false infer- 
ence, if we look no farther than the physical organization. 
The most prognathous, thick-lipped Hottentot stands far above 
the semi-quadrupedal orang. Says one of our ablest Amer- 
ican comparative anatomists,* " The organization of anthro- 

* Trofessor Jeffries Wyman. 



204 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

poid quadrumana justifies the naturalist in placing them at 
the head of the brute creation, and placing them in a position 
in which they, of all the animal series, shall be nearest to 
man. Any anatomist, however, who will take the trouble to 
compare the skeletons of the negro and orang, cannot fail to 
be struck at sight with the wide gap which separates them. 
The difference between the cranium, the pelvis, and the con- 
formation of the upper extremities, in the negro and Cauca- 
sian, sinks into insignificance when compared with the vast 
difference which exists between the conformation of the same 
parts in the negro and orang." 

But mere physical differences are of small consequence 
compared with such as are intellectual and moral. I shall 
not, indeed, take the ground that the inferior animals exhibit 
no traces of what we call mind in man — such as memory, 
imagination, volition, and reason. Admit, if you please, — 
what, in fact, seems to be almost beyond question, — that we 
do see evidence in brutes of the possession of mental faculties 
similar to those in man ; yet who has so low an opinion of 
his own mental powers as not to see an immense disparity 
between the psychological characteristics of brutes and of 
men ? The difference does not lie merely, or chiefly, in the 
original strength or weakness of these faculties. For if 
measured by such a test, we might well hesitate to ascribe a 
marked superiority to man ; since in his infancy he is of all 
animals one of the most helpless, and with less of instinctive 
power than they, and with a tardy development of intellect, 
he really often appears to disadvantage by their side. But 
let time pass on, and while the brute makes scarcely no prog- 
ress, you will see a surprising expansion and invigoration of 
the powers of the infant, as it rises to the stage of youth and 
manhood. Excepting in the case of idiocy or disease, you 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 205 

cannot stop, though you may retard, the expanding process ; 
and by cultivation you may wonderfully accelerate and per- 
fect it. But all such labor will be nearly wasted upon the 
brute. His instincts are capable of some improvement ; but 
when you try your hand upon his mental powers, you will see 
at once that you have got no foundation on which to build. 
A few animals may, indeed, with great care, be taught to do 
some things mechanically ; but their instruction consists chiefly 
in severe bodily inflictions, and fear and memory seem to be 
almost the only powers that are quickened ; so that the feats 
which they perform manifest nothing almost of mental acu- 
men. As to the power of abstraction, indeed, there is no 
evidence that the brutes are capable of it in any degree. 

In order to see the immense intellectual disparity between 
man and the brutes, compare the attainments of the most 
remarkable specimens of the latter with those of the loftiest 
human genius in the full maturity of his powers. Suppose 
you call on the chimpanze, the gorilla, or the " half-reasoning 
elephant," to make the comparison : they are incapable even 
of understanding what you mean ; and in that fact you see 
their vast inferiority. The entire field of what we call knowl- 
edge lies absolutely beyond their reach. You may subject 
them to the best discipline of which they are capable during 
their whole lives ; and yet you cannot get them possessed of 
a single idea, either literary or scientific. 

It may be said that the idiot, and even the Hottentot, or the 
negro of Central Africa, seem almost equally incapable of 
such ideas, and of drawing a comparison between themselves 
and the cultivated savant of civilized lands ; and yet all these 
are men. 

Of the idiot I shall speak shortly. But in respect to the 
Hottentot and the negro, it is not true that they cannot com- 
18 



206 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

prehend scientific truths. You have only to subject them to 
the culture that has been bestowed upon civilized man, espe- 
cially if continued through successive generations, and not 
only shall they be able to understand science, but it may be 
to rise almost to the level of the Newtons, the La Places, the 
Leibnitzes, and the Cuviers of proud Europe. Africaner, 
while prowling with the lion and the hyena for his human 
prey, may be only a little the most sagacious brute. For, as 
Cicero says, " What is the difference whether a man take the 
form of a brute, or, having the figure of a man, show the 
savageness of a brute ? " 

But when Africaner has been subdued by the gospel, and 
learns to aspire after knowledge, he shows that early disci- 
pline was alone wanting to make him as well known for men- 
tal and moral excellence as he was for savage ferocity. But 
his former fellow-tigers and hyenas could neither be thus 
tamed nor educated. He shows himself possessed of an in- 
tellectual principle within, that exalts him far, far above them. 

I admit that, as a matter of fact, a large proportion of the 
human family exhibit but a feeble intellectual development, 
and, in popular language, are justly represented as but little 
above the brutes. But even though the majority are thus 
degraded, are they to be taken as a measure of the mental 
power of the race, or shall we rather look upon the princes 
of the intellectual world as fair samples of what the whole 
race might become, if all obstructions were taken out of the 
way ? I have already intimated that I am an advocate of 
the latter view. For we do know that the most powerful 
intellect is reduced to the weakness of infancy by the force 
of bodily disease ; and that minds, seemingly weak in early 
life, have become strong when health was invigorated, and 
peculiar circumstances roused them to action. It is also true 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 207 

that a blow upon the head, producing some change in the 
brain, has been followed sometimes by an almost total loss of 
some of the mental faculties, and sometimes by their marked 
invigoration. We have cases, also, in which recovery from 
swoons that were supposed to be death, has been succeeded 
by the total loss for a time of all knowledge previously gained, 
until, all of a sudden, and preceded by some alteration in 
the brain, the mind has recovered in a moment all that it 
had lost. 

From such facts, the inference is certainly plausible that 
the intellectual diversities among men may be owing to phys- 
ical causes, rather than difference of original calibre. If 
changes of physical structure or condition do, in some cases, 
materially clarify and invigorate the mental powers, the pre- 
sumption is certainly fair that, if all minds were brought into 
the same circumstances in this respect, they would exhibit 
equal power; and even idiocy, it may be, would be trans- 
formed into genius of the highest grade. If so, then may we 
take the most extraordinary developments ever made by re- 
nowned scholars as a measure of the intellectual dynamics 
of the race. And how immeasurably higher on the scale 
would such a standard place man than the most elevated 
point reached by the brute ! 

But man's chief glory lies in his moral nature — that is, 
in his power of distinguishing right and wrong, virtue and 
vice ; instinctively approving of the one, and disapproving of 
the other ; feeling a satisfaction when he conforms to the one, 
and dissatisfaction when he yields to the other. This power 
assimilates him more than any thing else to the Deity, whose 
approval of holiness and hatred of sin are infinitely strong. 

Now, these moral faculties are entirely wanting in the 
brutes. They may be taught to perform certain actions, and 



208 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

refrain from others ; but there is not the shadow of proof 
that they have any consciousness of right and wrong. Their 
actions are all prompted by instinct, or by the fear of punish- 
ment, or the hope of reward. There is no conscience within 
to approve or to condemn ; nor have they any idea of a 
Moral Governor, who will reward virtue and punish vice. 
This, the grandest idea of which created beings are capable, 
is man's sole prerogative of all beings in this lower world, 
and it constitutes his highest distinction. 

It may be said — and correctly, too, as I admit, though 
contrary to long-received opinions — that there are degraded 
races of men, who not only have no idea of any being supe- 
rior to themselves, but no moral sense to accuse or excuse 
their actions ; so that not even murder, or any other mon- 
strous crime, will awaken the slightest self-condemnation ; * 
and hence it is maintained that man's boasted moral nature 
is the result of conventional rules, and therefore not an origi- 
nal implanted power of divine origin. But the existence of 
moral feelings is too nearly universal in the human bosom, 
and too nearly identical in character in all hearts, to be re- 
ferred to fluctuating human opinions. And the very few 
cases in which the moral sense seems to be wanting are ex- 
plained plausibly by admitting that extreme degradation and 
unrestrained wickedness, committed from generation to gen- 
eration, can so sear the moral sensibilities that they seem 
utterly dead for a time. Nevertheless, let the truth be poured 
in upon such a soul, with an accompanying divine influence, 
and moral life will be again awakened, whose cords shall 
vibrate to the slightest touch. 

But not so with the brute. By no process can you awaken 

* See Moffat's Southern Africa, pp. 89, 177, 182, &c, sixth edition. 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 209 

or create moral sensibilities in his nature. Indeed, the idea 
of exhibiting moral truth to a brute is ridiculous. Writers of 
a certain school of material philosophy do, indeed, speak of 
the morale, as well as the physique, of the lower animals. 
But it is a monstrous perversion of language, and would not 
be employed by any one who has any just ideas of the ex- 
alted nature of the moral faculties. 

3. According to Scripture, the creation of man was a 
miraculous and unusually important event. 

Observe in what different terms the creation of man is 
described from that of the inferior animals. When God 
would introduce the latter, he said, on the fifth day, Let the 
waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath 
life, and fowl that may fly in the open firmament of heaven. 
And God said, on the sixth day, Let the earth bring forth the 
living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing, and 
beast of the earth after his kind ; and it was so. Here the 
command appears to be directed to the earth and the waters, 
to put forth a power for the production of these organic 
races ; and it might be argued, perhaps, with some plausi- 
bility, that this power was inherent in the elements, and not 
communicated with the command. Thus, instead of a mira- 
cle, it might be only a development by natural laws of the 
germ of organic existence in elementary matter. But when 
w r e come to the creation of man, intervening agencies are set 
aside, and the object seems important enough to demand the 
direct agency of Jehovah. Nay, he uses the plural form of 
expression — the language of sovereigns when from the midst 
of counsellors they issue their mandates. God speaks as if 
in council, and says, Let us make man in our image, and after 
our likeness. Then he is described as having put forth his 
power to execute his decree : So God created man in his 
18* 



210 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

own image, in the image of God created he him. In the next 
chapter, where the inspired historian recapitulates the work 
of creation, he uses a form of expression no less dignified 
and impressive : And the Lord God formed man of the dust 
of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life, and man became a living soul. One cannot but notice 
in all these passages how differently man's creation is de- 
scribed from that of the inferior animals. To produce them, 
God merely directs agencies already in existence to do the 
work ; and the simple fact of their creation is stated. But 
to create man, he comes forth, as it were, from his hiding 
place, and, taking in his hand the dust of the ground, he 
moulds it with divine skill, and then breathes into it a portion 
of his own mental and moral life, and then fits up paradise 
to receive this emanation of his skill — this image of him- 
self. If this was not a miracle, if it was not a stupendous 
miracle, revelation contains none, nor can language describe 
one. I am awed, when I read the lofty description of man's 
creation in Genesis. There is a fulness and dignity about it 
which I find connected with no other event in Scripture. It 
impresses me with a sense of man's original elevation and 
importance in the scale of being ; and though he has fallen, 
I do not forget that his mental characteristics remain essen- 
tially unchanged, and that by the work of redemption his 
moral powers may be reinstamped with the divine image. 

No less distinctly does science, or rather natural religion 
founded upon science, teach the miraculous origin of man. 

To speak of miracles as taught by natural religion is, 
indeed, a new feature in theology. But it is a neology that 
has a scientific basis, and a most favorable bearing upon the 
whole system of religious truth. For what is a miracle ? 
What else but an event inexplicable by the ordinary laws of 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 211 

nature, and which therefore demands special divine interfer- 
ence to bring it about ? Now, then, the question is, Can the 
creation of man be explained by the ordinary laws of na- 
ture ? Science shows unequivocally that there was a period 
when he did not exist on this globe ; nay, she can nearly fix 
the epoch of his appearance. 

Was he brought in by natural law ? There is, indeed, a 
dreamy hypothesis that attempts to explain the origination of 
organic beings by the inherent force of law. But to explain 
thus the appearance of a moral and intellectual being as 
unique and exalted as man, has so ridiculous an aspect to 
common sense, that the boldest scepticism, with perhaps a 
few exceptions, dare not directly advocate it. It is so obvious 
that some new and special power must have been concerned 
in his creation, that unbelief is baffled and confounded — just 
as it would be now if another being, as much superior to 
man as he is to other animals, should start into life before 
our eyes. 

But it is said that, after all, man's creation, like every other 
great event of the universe, must have taken place according 
to law ; for how absurd to suppose God ever to act without 
law ! that is, without a settled principle of action ; and if an 
event is conformed to law, does it not take away the idea of 
special divine power ? In other words, is not a miracle, 
according to the common understanding of the term, an im- 
possibility ? 

I fully admit that there is a law of miracles, as well as of 
common events ; but this law may contravene, intensify, or 
weaken nature's ordinary laws, and therefore it requires 
God's wisdom and power to introduce and give it effect. It 
is an alteration of the established course of things ; nor does 
the fact, that God acts according to fixed rales, make such a 



212 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

change any the less special and designed to meet a particular 
exigency. 

Now, of all the events which science shows to have tran- 
spired on this globe, none bears upon it so distinctly the marks 
of special miraculous power as man's introduction. The 
records of the earth's past history, engraven on its rocky 
strata, do indeed show us other events, and even economies 
of life, which miraculous power can alone explain. But as 
man is confessedly placed at the culminating point of all ter- 
restrial economies, and forms, indeed, the crown of this lower 
world, his introduction is not only a miracle, but the most 
glorious of all miracles earth has ever witnessed. Nay, 
though I cannot fathom creative power in any of its manifes- 
tations, I confess that the mystery of producing dead matter 
out of nothing does not seem greater than to take that matter 
and mould it into a living man, and then unite with it intellect- 
ual and moral powers, such as ally this creature to its Crea- 
tor, and require an immortal existence for their development. 
It seems to my mind to be the crowning exercise of infinite 
wisdom and infinite power, and therefore the most wonderful 
of all miracles. 

Such is the parallelism between the facts of revealed and 
natural religion, as to the citation of man. It forms a solid 
and firmly compacted basis, on which we may erect some 
inferential truths of no small importance. 

My first inference from this discussion is a presumptive 
5 argument in favor of the Mosaic chronology. 

I refer to the chronology of man and contemporary animals ; 
for it is well known that in respect to the chronology of the 
matter of the globe, many regard the Scriptures as not re- 
sponsible, because they do not give the date of its origin, but 
only say that, In the beginnings God created the heavens and 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 213 

the earth. And in regard to the date of man's creation, com- 
pared with the advent of Christ, as well as of many interven- 
ing events, particularly the antediluvian, it has long been 
known that there is room for a diversity of opinion, amount- 
ing to some thousands of years, according as we follow the 
Hebrew, the Samaritan, or the Septuagint text ; so that when 
I speak of a presumption from my subject in favor of the 
Mosaic chronology, I mean, in favor of its general accuracy. 
Whichever system of biblical chronology we follow, the crea- 
tion of man and existing animals was comparatively recent ; 
and science teaches the same lesson, although geological 
periods cannot be reckoned definitely by years. 

Perhaps it may be thought that a coincidence so general, 
between the scientific and revealed records, is of small im- 
portance. But I judge otherwise. For undesigned coinci- 
dences are among the best of collateral proofs of the truth of 
Scripture ; and in this case, the coincidence is as exact as the 
nature of the case will admit. Had there been discrepancy 
on this subject, how eagerly would it have been seized upon 
to throw discredit upon biblical chronology ! This is a point 
against which scepticism aims its deadliest shafts. It is pleas- 
ant, therefore, to find our confidence in the accuracy of 
Scripture history strengthened by the record which we find 
instamped upon the rocks. 

My second inference enters a protest against those materi- 
alistic views, widely prevalent at the present day, which sink 
men, or at least some varieties of men, almost to the level of 
the brutes. 

It is not strange, perhaps, that such views should be 
adopted, when we look at some of the prevailing systems of 
anthropology. It is first assumed that the size and shape of 
the cranium determine the intellectual and moral character ; 



214 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

and since some of the races in this respect approach certain 
brutes, it is inferred that in character they approximate as 
nearly as in phrenological development. For the next step 
is to deny, or at least to doubt, the existence of any thinking 
principle in man, independent of matter, and of course the 
mental and moral calibre will depend upon the size, delicacy 
of organization, and facile action of the brain. The thii;d 
step is, to take the ground that the different races of men are 
not mere varieties, but distinct species, with plurality of ori- 
gin. The Caucasian is always placed at the head of the spe- 
cies, and the negro at the foot. According to the theory, the 
inferior species are incapable of elevated ideas or religious 
emotions. " Lofty civilization," says a recent writer of this 
school, " in all cases has been achieved solely by the Cauca- 
sian group. The black African races, inhabiting the south 
of Egypt, have been in constant intercourse with her, as we 
prove from the monuments, daring four thousand years ; and 
yet they have not made a solitary step towards civilization — 
neither will they, nor can they, until their physical organiza- 
tion becomes changed. No line can be drawn between men 
and animals, on the ground of reason. Did space permit, I 
could produce historical testimonies, by the dozen, to over- 
throw the postulate which claims for certain inferior types of 
men any inherent recognition of divine Providence — an 
idea too exalted for their cerebral organizations, and which is 
fondly attributed to them by untravelled or unlearned Cauca- 
sians, whose kind-hearted simplicity has not realized that 
diverse lower races of humanity actually exist, uninvested by 
the Almighty with mental faculties adequate to the percep- 
tion of religious sentiments or abstract philosophies, that in 
themselves are exclusively Caucasian.'" * 

* Types of Mankind, pp. 461-463. 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 215 

How diverse are such views of the human family from 
those presented in the Bible ! And God said, Let us make 
man in our image, after our likeness. So God created 
man in his oxen image, in the image of God created he him. 
He hath made of one Mood all nations of men to dwell on all 
the face of the earth; and Christ commanded his disciples to 
go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 
At last, however, physiologists have found out, by an exami- 
nation of the crania, that " diverse lower races of humanity " 
have never been invested by their Creator with the mental 
faculties adequate to the perception of religious sentiments, 
which belong exclusively to the Caucasian race. 

These degrading views of the human family are also con- 
trary to the lessons of experience. For two hundred years, 
at least, almost countless experiments have been tried by able, 
conscientious, and persevering men, upon every variety of 
our race, to see if they were capable of intellectual and 
moral culture. To this work, thousands upon thousands of 
devoted missionaries have consecrated their lives ; and from 
every quarter of the globe — from the wigwam of the Amer- 
ican Indian, the mud hut of the African negro, and the kraal 
of the Hottentot, as well as from the burrow of the Green- 
lander, and the cities of the semi-civilized Mongolian — the 
same testimony has been sent back. Not only are all these 
races capable of such culture, but vast multitudes of the 
young have shown nearly as much intellectual power and sus- 
ceptibility to religious emotions as the Caucasian race, and 
have been reclaimed from their savage state, instructed in the 
arts of civilization, and have lived the life and died the death 
of the Christian. Yet all this evidence passes for nothing 
with the anthropologists to whom I have referred. With 
them a single degree more or less in the facial angle, a half 



216 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

inch added to, or subtracted from, the circumference of the 
cranium, or a shade lighter or darker in the color, weighs 
more than the testimony of a thousand missionaries, whom 
they speak of as unlearned Caucasians, whose " kind-hearted 
simplicity " renders them incapable of judging of the intel- 
lectual and moral ability of those among whom they spend 
their days. 

But finally, these degrading views of man are contrary to 
self-consciousness. I will admit, if you please, that in bodily 
organization I am paralleled by the quadrumana. But I am 
conscious of intellectual and moral powers within me, which, 
although now intimately linked to matter, and perhaps may 
be, in some other form, forever, are still distinct from matter, 
independent of it in nature, and raising me immeasurably 
above all forms of organization, and every being not pos- 
sessed of like powers. If, by my physical structure, my 
animal life and instincts, I am allied to the brutes, by my 
higher faculties I am assimilated to my Creator ; and I glory 
in the thought that I was made in his image. In such a na- 
ture there can be nothing defective, or degrading, but sin. 
This, I acknowledge, has made dreadful havoc with my 
nobler powers. But the fair columns erected by an infinite 
Architect still stand with their entablatures and arches, and I 
look with confidence to the same divine hand to clear away 
the rubbish and the defilement, and to make the whole temple 
more beautiful and glorious than even Eden could boast. For 
I look forward to an immortal existence, and to a state of 
sinless perfection — nay, more, to the society of holy angels 
and communion with the infinite God. In the conscious pos- 
session of such powers and aspirations, which ally me to all 
that is exalted and noble in the universe, how instinctively do 
I recoil from views which make thought and conscience 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 217 

mere functions of the brain, to perish, of course, with 
organization ! 

My third inference derives from this subject a refutation 
of the most plausible arguments for atheism and pantheism^ 
and presents a new argument for the divine existence. 

There are two points which atheists consider their strong- 
holds ; the one is the eternity of the world, and the other the 
eternal succession of processes and races. And so long as 
they could be met only by abstract metaphysical reasoning, 
they could not be fairly driven from these coverts. But the 
fact of man's creation cannot, by the utmost ingenuity, be 
woven into conformity with these dreamy hypotheses. Had 
it been made known only by revelation, atheism would have 
evaded its force by denying the authority. But science, 
teaching the same fact, cuts off this subterfuge. Or did not 
both these records give so very recent a date to the human 
species, unbelief might have hidden itself behind the veil of 
antiquity. But now the fact is too firmly established to be 
denied, that the most perfect and exalted of all terrestrial 
races was introduced, probably, the latest of them all ; and 
thus is demonstrative evidence furnished of a direct and spe- 
cial intervention of wisdom and power such as no being but 
God possesses. Suppose, then, you admit the eternal exist- 
ence of matter, and even the eternal succession of the lower 
animals ; still you have in man's creation as imperious a ne- 
cessity for a Deity, as the origination of matter, or any of its 
other modifications, would demand. And it must be a per- 
sonal Deity, not a mere blind force pervading nature, such as 
pantheism admits ; for to create man, infinite wisdom, as well 
as infinite power, must be brought into exercise. 

The argument from the design, every where apparent in 
nature, for the divine existence, requires an admission that 
19 



218 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

the existing processes and races had a beginning. But this 
the atheist denies, as we have already seen, and not without 
some degree of plausibility. Yet in man's creation we have 
a work demanding an infinite Deity, accomplished within a 
definite period. It is not, indeed, the original creation of mat- 
ter, but rather its re-creation, with the bestowment of the 
higher principles of life and intellect. It may be regarded, 
therefore, as a new argument for the divine existence, or 
rather, perhaps, the old argument cleared of every difficulty, 
and having the freshness and transparency of demonstration. 

My fourth inference derives from the subject a refutation 
of the wide- spread doctrine of creation by law, and of the 
unmiraculous development of the higher from the lower forms 
of organic life. 

This hypothesis, though old as Democritus, and finding a 
lodgment occasionally in the brain of here and there a clois- 
tered sceptic, has never till our day assumed a popular dress, 
and ventured forth to gain the attention of the crowd, and 
become the theme of discussion in the place of public resort, 
and even by the fireside of private life. La Place first at- 
tempted to show how suns and systems might be formed from 
eternal matter in a nebulous state without a Deity. Next, the 
French naturalists, improving upon Democritus, described the 
process by which inorganic matter became organic, in the 
lowest and simplest degree ; and, finally, with the aid of 
Anglo-Saxon sceptics, they traced the development of the 
vital particle called a monad in its upward progress, through 
higher and higher tribes of animals, till, finally, even man 
was evolved from the quadrumana, by what was called " a 
tendency to improvement " and " the force of circumstances." 
And all these changes depended, not upon miraculous inter- 
vention, but upon the operation of laws eternally inherent in 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 219 

nature ; so that the hypothesis may properly be denominated 
creation by law. 

To sustain these views, appeal has been made to almost 
every department of nature, especially to those parts over 
which, through difficulty or defect of investigation, obscurity 
still hangs. But though unsustained by any department of 
science, it seems to me that its absurdity is eminently mani- 
fest from the creation of man. The mere attempt to state 
the process by which the orang outang is converted by natu- 
ral law into the human species can hardly fail to excite the 
smile of common sense. But if the views presented in this 
discourse are true, it will excite a sigh, rather than a smile, 
to find that reasonable and intelligent men have no higher 
idea of the intellectual and moral nature of the immortal mind 
than to suppose it capable of derivation by a natural process 
from the orang outang — nay, from a vitalized, but scarcely 
organized monad. How strange, how impious even, to talk 
of the evolution of God's image from a quadrumanous brute ! 
Make out, if you please, a near corporeal relation ; but who 
that is not himself brutalized can try to bridge over the wide 
gulf between man's higher nature and the most sagacious 
brute by that abused and ill-understood phrase, a law of 
nature ? 

My fifth inference not only removes all presumption against 
Christianity as a miraculous dispensation, but furnishes a 
strong presumption in favor of the miracles of revelation. 

We have seen that the most remarkable miracle of the 
Bible, the creation of man, is also a miracle in the history of 
science, and the most striking, too, of all the miracles in that 
history. It contains others — such, for instance, as the crea- 
tion of the inferior animals. But I would fix my eye, at this 
time, solely on man. From the dust of the ground I see him 



220 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 

start into life in the full perfection of his powers, and with a 
nature so much superior to that of any other terrestrial crea- 
ture as to preclude the idea of any connection, save that they 
all belong to the same great system of organization. Philos- 
ophy is utterly baffled in attempting "to explain by any known 
laws and processes of nature the derivation of such a being 
from any preexisting races. Strive as she does to avoid it, 
she is forced to the conclusion that special divine wisdom and 
power must be called in to explain such a phenomenon. So 
long as revelation alone asserted the recent origin of man, 
scepticism could imagine his existence in an endless series. 
But now that the earth itself has opened its mouth to confirm 
the testimony of revelation on this point, miraculous power 
alone can solve the great problem of his existence. 

And what a host of sceptical doubts and surmises, which 
have long been fastened as vipers to the hand of Christianity, 
does that one great miracle of nature paralyze ! so that, in- 
stead of seeing her fall down dead, as an unbelieving world 
have long expected she would, they now behold her shaking 
them off, and feeling no harm. The moment you bring the 
famous cavil of Hume respecting testimony, or the mystic 
hypothesis of Strauss, or the shadowy dreams of the anti- 
supernaturalists, or the fancied inspiration of the infidel spir- 
itualists, into the presence of this one great fact of man's 
miraculous creation, they fall flat upon their faces, like Dagon 
before the ark of God. A miracle once admitted in the his- 
tory of nature, and all presumptions against analogous mira- 
cles in Christianity vanish like fog before the sun. Nay, 
more, we obtain a positive presumption in favor of all which 
revelation describes. The ponderous metaphysical and ra- 
tionalistic tomes that have been written to disprove the mirac- 
ulous character of Christianity, and their equally voluminous 



THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN'S CREATION. 221 

replies, now lose their potency, and we may suffer them to 
pass into the limbo of forgetfulness. 

If these tMngs are so, then may I add, as another infer- 
ence, that we gain from the whole subject a presumptive proof 
of the truth of revelation. 

If science had been discrepant to revelation in relation to 
the creation and character of man as much as it is now in 
agreement, it surely would have been seized upon as cast- 
ing suspicion upon Christianity. Why, then, should not these 
remarkable coincidences strengthen our conviction of its 
truth ? When the writer of Genesis placed man's creation 
on the last of the demiurgic days, who told him that when the 
earth's rocky archives should be deciphered man's registry 
would be found only near the close of the long roll ? When 
he represented the work as eminently miraculous, who told 
him that the science of the nineteenth century would teach 
the same ? And when he placed man at the head of crea- 
tion on earth, who told him that psychology and ethics would 
make the same classification ? Who told him ? How nat- 
ural the conclusion that it was the same infinite Instructor 
whose hand laid the foundations of the earth, filled it with 
life and beauty, and who therefore could not be mistaken in 
its history ! 

In view of this whole discussion, may I not add, in conclu- 
sion, that it furnishes an instructive example of the use that 
may be made of natural religion by the minister of the 
gospel ? 

Imperfectly as the subject has been presented, may I not 
presume that my hearers feel that the teachings of science, 
in relation to man's creation and character, do lend a strong 
confirmation of the biblical account, and that this united tes- 
timony throws much light upon several important principles 
19* 



222 THE RELIGIOUS BEARINGS OF MAN^S CREATION* 

in the theory of religion ? I have touched, however, upon 
only a single point, where natural and revealed theology 
meet ; and doubtless other points, equally prolific of impor- 
tant instruction, lie along the line of junction, waiting only 
careful investigation. And is not this sort of research what 
the spirit of the present age demands ? Infidelity has long 
since claimed the testimony of science as on her side ; and I 
fear that too often the expounders of revealed theology have 
half admitted the claim, and felt that the less they had to do 
with natural religion the better. But this jealousy of the 
religious bearings of science is entirely unfounded ; and if 
ever she has seemed to speak against revealed truth, it was 
ventriloquism, and not her natural language. Let the preachers 
of the gospel diligently explore the fields of natural religion, 
and many a rich gem of truth shall reward their search, 
which, polished by the hand of learned piety, shall sparkle 
even in the fair crown of Christianity. To preach Christ 
crucified should be, indeed, their chief aim and effort. But if 
they would be workmen that need not be ashamed, they should 
be able to draw the illustration and defence of the truth from 
the whole field of nature, as well as of revelation. And 
whether they seek responses at the shrine of God's word, or 
his works, or his providence, they will find unity, harmony, 
and mutual corroboration. The rays of truth coming through 
these different media may, indeed, be of different colors ; but 
they will be found sweetly blending into one unbroken bow 
of light, painted on the retiring cloud of error and sin, and 
presaging the glories of earth's latter day. 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 



The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid 
in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 

Matthew xiii. 33. 

It is not often that the discoveries of modern science eluci- 
date and make more impressive the language of Scripture. 
The text, however, is one of these rare instances. It de- 
scribes, indeed, a very familiar process, — that of bread 
making, — which, as a practical matter, has been known from 
very early times. But the principles on which some parts of 
the operation depend are even yet among the most recondite 
in chemical science. Something is known of them, however ; 
and although the person who is acquainted only with the pro- 
cess of leavening bread must be struck with the peculiar force 
and appropriateness of this illustration, yet the man ac- 
quainted with its rationale cannot but realize it more deeply. 
I shall feel justified, therefore, in spending a few moments in 
scientific details, which would be appropriate to the chemical 
lecture room ; nay, I should feel condemned if I did not take 
this course, because I am confident that I can thus make the 
beauty and force of this passage more obvious and impressive. 
And in doing this, and introducing a few technical phrases, I 
hope my hearers will not charge me with pedantry, till they 
have heard me through. Gladly would I avoid these scien- 

(223) 



224 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

tific details, could I in any other way bring out the full 
strength and appropriateness of the text. 

The phrase kingdom of heaven, in this passage, demands a 
passing exegetical notice. The radical idea contained in it, as 
well as in the cognate expression kingdom of God, is that of 
dominion or government. Even when it means heaven itself, 
as it sometimes does, this original idea clings to it ; for in 
heaven, the most prominent manifestation of the Deity will 
be through his government. In the New Testament, how- 
ever, this phrase often designates the reign of the gospel dis- 
pensation ; and hence it very naturally is sometimes put for 
the principles of the gospel. Such seems to be its precise 
meaning in the text. Christ evidently meant to say, that the 
truths of the gospel, when brought into contact with society, 
operate like the leaven of the bread maker, when mingled 
with the dough. 

And how, precisely, does this operate ? Chemistry, to 
some extent, informs us. It is an example of those changes 
in bodies, which, for the want of a better name, is called 
Catalysis. This term embraces a great variety of decompo- 
sitions and recompositions, which are not explained by the 
common principles of analysis and synthesis. In catalysis, 
the mere presence of a certain body among the particles of 
another produces the most extensive changes among those 
particles ; and yet the body thus operating is itself unaffected. 
Thus a stream of hydrogen poured upon a piece of platinum 
will take fire — that is, unite with the oxygen of the atmos- 
phere through the influence of the platinum ; and yet that 
metal will remain unaltered. 

In cases of catalysis, more analogous to the example re- 
ferred to in the text, the substance itself, which is the agent 
of the change, is in a decomposing condition. This is the 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 225 

case with leaven, or, as it is sometimes called, ferment or 
yeast. One sees, from the commotion among its particles, 
that a change is going on in its internal condition, and that 
new compounds are forming out of its elements. Introduced 
in that state into the meal, it communicates a change to the 
whole mass, analogous to that which it is itself experien- 
cing. This is called fermentation. In breacl, it is not al- 
lowed to proceed very far, but is arrested by the heat of 
the oven. 

It is found that the remarkable power of leaven to change 
the character of compounds depends on a peculiar principle 
which it contains, called Diastase. This substance is so 
powerful in its action, that one part of it, mixed with two 
thousand parts of starch, will change the whole into sugar in 
a few hours. 

It had long been a great mystery how so small a quantity 
of one substance should be able to effect such a change upon 
so large a mass of another. But the discovery that leaven in 
its active state contains a fungous plant, which multiplies with 
prodigious rapidity, and is sustained by the matter into which 
the leaven is introduced, furnishes an explanation. This 
yeast plant, as it is called, consists of myriads of cells, 
scarcely more than one three thousandth of an inch in diam- 
eter ; and it has the power of converting sugar into alcohol 
and carbonic acid, and finally into vinegar. All the steps of 
the process by which the starch of flour is changed into these 
various products may not be fully understood ; but it seems 
settled that the starch affords the nourishment to the plant, at 
least in all ordinary cases of fermentation. 

The history of catalytic changes, then, furnishes us with 
two principles of importance in elucidating the text. The 
first is, that it needs but a very small quantity of leaven to 



226 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

produce a complete change in a very large amount of farina- 
ceous matter. The second is, that it is only necessary to 
start the process of change in one or a few spots in the mass, 
where the particles of the leaven happen to be, in order to 
have it permeate the entire heap. It is not necessary that a 
particle of the leaven should actually come in contact with 
every particle of the mass. It need only commence a pro- 
cess in one spot, which will spread of itself through the 
whole, or at least to a great extent. 

To return now to my text, — such a power does Christ 
declare the gospel to possess. The kingdom of heaven is like 
unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures 
of meal, till the whole was leavened. Hence I take for my 
subject on this occasion, The Catalytic Power of the Gospel. 
I wish to show that wherever that is cast into the dead and 
inert mass of human society, it shows a quickening, expand- 
ing, and multiplying power possessed by no other human in- 
stitution. 

In order to avoid misapprehension, let me premise one or 
two remarks. Because I shall attempt to show that gospel 
truth has a mighty power over the human heart, let no one 
imagine me a disbeliever in the necessity of a special divine 
influence to give that truth success. In that doctrine most 
cordially do I acquiesce ; and when I speak of a peculiar effi- 
cacy of the truth, I assume that the conversion of men is not 
by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts. 
My only object is to show that the truth, in itself, possesses a 
peculiar adaptedness to win its way and transform society. 
And surely it will encourage our efforts, as well as make 
us feel more deeply our obligations, to learn what an ad- 
mirable instrument God has put into our hands with which 
to labor. 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 227 

Let us now look at the evidence of the catalytic power of 
the gospel. 

In the first place, such a power is derived from the adapted- 
ness of the gospel to human wants. 

How well adapted it is to promote the temporal welfare and 
happiness of man, may be seen by comparing the condition 
of society in Christian lands with that of heathen and Mo- 
hammedan countries. So striking is the contrast, that truly 
and literally we may say of Christianity, it has the promise 
of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. 
But it is mainly of man's spiritual wants that I speak at this 
time. For though felt more or less by all, and by many with 
great intensity, they are met and satisfied nowhere save in 
the gospel. Yet how purblind men are to this panacea ! 
They search for remedies every where else. They run the 
whole round of sensual gratification in the vain expectation 
of relief; but they find only a bitter aggravation of their suf- 
ferings. They toil for wealth, for honor, for power, and per- 
haps are eminently successful. Bat the void in their hearts is 
only made larger and more painful. They resort to social 
enjoyments, or to learning, or to splendid worldly- enterprises; 
but all in vain ; the terrible craving of their nature continues, 
and, like the cast-out unclean spirit, they go through dry 
places, seeking rest, yet finding none. They resort finally to 
deeds of charity, to self-mortifications, and to the rites of a 
religion of forms ; and here they fancy they must find peace. 
But if they do, it is only a false and a transient peace — the 
peace of self-delusion, not the peace of God. And when 
some trying exigency of life overtakes them, the visor drops 
from their eyes, and the cheated soul within cries out in an- 
guish for something to lean upon in the hour of suffering and 
of death. 



228 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

Such are the vain phantoms which most men pursue 
through all their days, urged on by the deep, restless, unsatis- 
fied wants of their nature. Nor does one in a thousand fancy 
that he is walking in a vain show, until God's Spirit opens his 
eyes to see the plague of his own heart. He is amazed and 
overwhelmed by the view. Such deep and dreadful deprav- 
ity, pervading his whole nature, he never once suspected. 
He can live with such a heart no longer. Ah, he sees now 
what he wants, and, prostrate in the dust, he cries out, Create 
in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within 
me. His prayer prevails. He rises a new creature in Christ 
Jesus. The aching void in his heart is filled — filled with 
divine love and divine peace. He is saved by the washing of 
regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. He has 
found, at last, the grand panacea which nature could never 
discover. 

" This remedy did wisdom find 
To heal diseases of the mind, 
The sovereign balm, whose virtues can 
Restore the ruined creature, man." 

During the preparatory process that goes before regenera- 
tion, as well as in the act, the peculiar adaptedness of an- 
other great doctrine of the gospel to human wants is made 
most manifest. The man is deeply conscious of having 
broken the law of God ; and when he is made to feel how 
reasonable that law is, and how holy, he does not see how he 
can be pardoned. The law only condemns him, but discloses 
not one gleam of hope. He looks around solicitously for 
some way of escape. He inquires whether he can himself 
make any offerings to God that will be a ground of pardon. 
Especially may not the sacrifice of animal life avail ? To such 
sacrifices have men in all ages and countries resorted, either 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 229 

by the promptings of instinct or revelation. And it shows, at 
least, how general is the conviction of men, that sin cannot 
be pardoned without some expiation made by a substitute. 
But a voice from the Scriptures replies, It is not possible that 
the Mood of bulls and of goats should take away sin. The 
sinner sinks down in despair at this announcement. How 
well prepared, then, to receive another, issuing from the same 
inspired record ! — The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us 
from all sin. Christ being come, a high priest of good 
things to come, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by 
his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having 
obtained eternal redemption for us. The great central truth 
of a vicarious atonement gradually opens upon his agitated 
mind. At first, he sees it only dimly and doubtingly. But, 
ere long, his heart perceives that here is the divine remedy 
for its otherwise hopeless case. Here, mercy and truth meet 
together ; righteousness and peace embrace each other. Thus 
God can be just, while he justifies the believer. Faith can 
doubt no longer. It rushes to the cross, and pardon, peace, 
and holy joy succeed to anguish and despair. The most 
pressing want man ever experiences — the desire of for- 
giveness — is thus fully met ; and ever after, the pardoned 
sinner, addressing his Saviour, exclaims, — 

"E'er since by faith I saw the stream 
Thy flowing wounds supply, 
Redeeming love has been my theme, 
And shall be till I die. 

" Then in a nobler, sweeter song, 
I'll sing thy power to save, 
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue 
Lies silent in the grave." 

20 



230 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

The character of the Being who made the atonement is 
another doctrinal point most wisely adapted to the wants of 
man. Whatever may be said as to those engaged in intel- 
lectual pursuits, and accustomed to abstractions, the great 
body of men have ever associated some material or human 
characteristic in their idea of God. And the Old Testament, 
out of regard to this want of human nature, has made most 
of its representations of the Deity quite anthropomorphous. 
But it is in the character of Jesus Christ that this want is 
most fully met. In that character, the divine and the human 
are so beautifully blended as to invite confidence without de- 
stroying veneration. Had it been said only that the Word 
was with God, and was God, man would feel as if there were 
an infinite gulf between him and his Saviour. But when it is 
added, that the Word teas made Jiesh and dwelt among us, 
the idea of a common nature draws us to him, and especially 
when he calls us his brethren, and declares that he was 
tempted in all points as we are, for the very purpose of af- 
fording succor to them that are tempted, and to stand as our 
Daysman, our Advocate and Intercessor, our hearts can no 
longer resist the appeal, and we approach the throne of 
grace boldly, because we know that we have a sympathizing 
Friend to plead our cause. And yet he is an almighty Friend ; 
and what more can we ask ? No wonder that the heart 
cleaves to such a Saviour with a supreme and undying love. 

" Clothed with our nature still, he knows 
The weakness of our frame, 
And how to shield us from the foes 
"Whom he himself o'ercame. 

" Nor time, nor distance e'er shall quench 
The fervor of his love ; 
For us he died in kindness here, 
For us he lives above." 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 231 

It is hardly strange that to the acutest minds, unenlightened 
by revelation, this world should seem to be a hopeless enig- 
ma ; or that it should be looked upon as a state of retribution, 
and that the half Christian Manichee should imagine two su- 
preme principles, one of good and the other of evil, holding 
with each other an everlasting war. But there are two doc- 
trines of revelation that solve the dark riddle, and show to 
the eye of faith the full-orbed glories of the Divine Benevo- 
lence behind the thickest clouds. One of these doctrines is, 
that the world is in a fallen condition, and because sin has 
entered it, suffering has followed ; so that, in fact, the whole 
creation groaneth and travailetk together in pain. The 
other is, that God's providence sits watchfully above the 
whole scene, and so controls every event, that the final result 
shall be happiness and glory. It is wonderful how these 
truths resolve the most agitating doubts, and anchor the soul 
to a rock amid the fiercest tempests of life. Faith does not 
fear but that infinite power, wisdom, and benevolence will 
bring order out of confusion, peace out of discord, holiness 
out of pollution, and everlasting happiness out of temporary 
misery. She can see how wisely adapted even the evils of 
life are to the moral discipline essential to a fallen being. 
And when the tempests howl around, and the billows come 
pouring over her, it is enough for her to know that all things 
work together for good, to them that love God. She has 
reached that happiest condition of human existence, unre- 
served submission to the will of God. 

Springing from such a system of doctrines, cordially em- 
braced, there are hopes and consolations such as nothing else 
can give. All other hopes and consolations fail to satisfy ; 
but these leave nothing to be desired. The man does not 
cease to be interested in this world, but he is more interested 



232 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

in another. The consciousness that his eternal future is safe 
makes every blessing the sweeter which he receives on his 
way thither ; and it also lightens every labor, and neutralizes 
every trial. So near to immortal and unalloyed happiness, 
of how little consequence to him are the short-lived incon- 
veniences he meets in his brief sojourn below, especially 
when he knows how necessary his trials and labors are to 
prepare him for eternal joy ! O, if such a man has not 
within him the elements of happiness, they cannot be found 
on earth. Daily the manna falls from heaven around him ; 
and even in the thirsty desert, he can smite the rock, and the 
cool and refreshing waters will gush out. And he knows 
that, when he comes to the banks of Jordan, the waters, 
touched by the wand of faith, will divide for his passage. 

Such is the wonderful adaptation of the gospel system to 
human wants. How could it do more to fill and satisfy them ? 
Now, my argument is, that whenever men are made conscious 
of their spiritual wants, and such a gospel is made known to 
them, it will be eagerly embraced. And if embraced by a 
few, they cannot but make it known to others ; and thus, if 
no untoward influences prevent, will the whole mass at length 
be leavened. It does, indeed, meet with a powerful obstruc- 
tion in human depravity ; and were it unadapted to the neces- 
sities of man, it could make no progress ; but now it has a 
catalytic power, which enables it to find its way through the 
sluggish mass. 

In the second place, man's conscience testifies to the truth 
of the gospel system, and thus prepares the way for its ad- 
mission to the heart. 

Of all the powers of the human soul, conscience has suf- 
fered least from the blasting influence of the apostasy of the 
race. The corrupt heart is able to make every other faculty 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 233 

its pander and slave ; but conscience always stands erect and 
unsubdued, ready to lift her voice in defence of the right, and 
to rebuke the wrong. Her mouth may, indeed, for a time, 
be forcibly closed, and her sensibilities blunted, by the hot, 
searing iron of iniquity ; but her internal vitality remains 
unaffected ; and when, at length, her liberty and vigor are 
restored, her retributions will be terrible. 

Now, it is an interesting fact that unperverted conscience 
is a stern advocate for evangelical religion. Tell an uncon- 
verted man that his heart is deceitful above all things and 
desperately wicked, and his pride and self-sufficiency will 
resent the charge ; but his conscience knows it to be true. 
Tell him that with such a heart he could not be happy in 
heaven, and that therefore he must be created anew in Christ 
Jesus, and his corrupt inclinations will muster a stout defiance 
against the mortifying truth ; yet the faithful inward monitor 
often compels him to acknowledge its reality. Hence you will 
often see the strange anomaly of a man confessing his utterly 
lost condition by nature, and his entire unfitness for heaven 
without a new heart, and yet so bolstered up by pride and 
self-sufficiency, that he feels little anxiety, and makes no 
efficient efforts to change his condition. 

Again, in spite of all the struggles of perverted reason, 
conscience often compels men to acknowledge the justice of 
the penalty annexed to sin. Sophistry may enable them to 
make out a very clear demonstration of the inconsistency 
between divine benevolence and eternal punishment. But 
conscience compels them to acknowledge that they deserve 
it. They know that, with such wicked hearts, they could 
never experience any thing else but punishment ; and they 
are conscious of having done nothing to lay God under obli- 
gation to give them a better heart ; so that, without his 
20* 



234 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

interposition, eternal misery follows as a natural conse- 
quence. 

But though thus dependent upon God's grace, conscience 
will not release them from their obligations to love and serve 
him ; for that faithful and keen-eyed observer testifies that 
their inability arises from a perversion of the powers which 
God has given them, and not from any natural defect ; and 
therefore they are as much bound to love and obey their 
Father in heaven as a perverse child is to exercise filial affec- 
tion, and do service to his earthly father. 

In this dilemma, how strenuous an advocate for the doc- 
trine of special grace does conscience become ! Instead of 
pleading the sinner's apology on the ground of inability, and 
striving to release him from obligation, she charges him with 
having crippled himself, and therefore as lying under the full 
weight of responsibility to the divine law. Yet how certain 
to perish, if the special power of God do not interpose ! 

In the human conscience, then, we have a powerful instru- 
mentality for the diffusion of the gospel. Once let the leaven 
of its great principles be brought into close contact with that 
conscience, and, in spite of the hostile influence of pride, 
selfishness, and passion, it will rouse and transform the torpid 
soul, and make it henceforth alive to duty and to God. That 
soul will, in fact, become a new creature in Christ Jesus, old 
things having passed away, and all things become new. But 
such a perfect network of sympathies is human society, that 
you cannot change the feelings and character of one in- 
dividual, and not send a like influence into the hearts of 
those around him. Let one man's conscience be roused to 
do its office, and his neighbor's conscience cannot be wholly 
quiet. So numerous are the points of contact between men, 
that no one can remain long wholly ignorant of a moral 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 235 

change in his neighbor, nor unaffected by it when known. 
Thus through the force of conscience a self-propagating 
power is imparted to religious reformations. Once start the 
process in a particular spot, and conscience will become the 
catalytic agency to transmit it from individual to individual, 
we cannot tell how widely. 

In the third place, the history of Christianity shows it to 
he possessed of an extraordinary catalytic power. 

Recall to mind the circumstances under which the gospel 
was first introduced. Its Author, a poor, persecuted wan- 
derer, chose twelve illiterate fishermen for his council, his 
heralds, his body guard, and his successors in propagating 
his system of truth among men. The whole world, too, 
stood armed to the teeth to resist its introduction. All its 
prejudices, its social, political, religious, and even its military 
power, was ready to be arrayed against the gospel ; and, in 
fact, all these forces were employed to arrest its progress, 
and^to root it out of the world. Ten times within three hun- 
dred years did the mighty Emperors of Rome assail Chris- 
tianity with fire and sword. And they felt sure of a triumph ; 
for how could a few feeble, contemptible fanatics, without 
wealth, power, or influence, resist an array that had conquered 
the world ? But how little did these worldly-wise rulers know 
of the inherent vitality, the self-sustaining and self-propagat- 
ing power of the gospel ! So that, in fact, while they sup- 
posed they were giving the finishing blow to the system, it 
was silently and irresistibly working its way into the hearts 
and affections of all classes of the community, till at length, 
in the beginning of the fourth century, it became the estab- 
lished religion of the empire. 

Perhaps you will say this was the effect of the miraculous 
agency that was manifested in the church in apostolic times. 



236 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

This might have had some influence in the first introduction 
of Christianity ; yet far less, even then, I apprehend, than is 
generally supposed ; for it is usually quite easy to get rid of 
the influence of a miracle by imputing it to imposture, jug- 
glery, and delusion, as we know was done in those days. 
But it is not settled whether the power of working miracles 
was possessed by any after the days of the apostles ; cer- 
tainly that power was withdrawn a century or two before the 
days of Constantine. Nor have we evidence that there was 
any thing peculiar in the divine influence which was exerted 
upon the hearts of men in primitive times. It seems to have 
operated then, as now, according to the established laws of 
mind, and in proportion to the means employed. Further- 
more, we have the testimony of the Bible to the position, that 
'men are no more apt to be convinced by miracles than by 
the ordinary truths of the gospel ; for if they hear not Moses 
and the prophets, neither would they he persuaded though 
one rose from the dead. We must, therefore, impute* the 
extraordinary success of the gospel in early times, and in the 
midst of fiery persecution, mainly to its adaptation to human 
wants and the human conscience. 

In subsequent periods of the world's history, this same 
experiment has been often repeated. And it has ever been 
true that the kingdom of heaven cometh not with observa- 
tion. No loud trumpets have sounded its advent ; no pow- 
erful array of means has ushered it in. A few obscure men, 
without money or influence, and perhaps with little of worldly 
wisdom or policy, unarmed saved by the Bible and faith, 
have gone into the arena of conflict, like David to meet 
\ Goliath. And so inadequate have the champions and their 
weapons seemed, that the world have looked upon them with 
as much contempt and derision as Philistia's giant did upon 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 237 

David. And yet the despised pebble has found its way to 
the giant's forehead, and the Galilean has conquered. 

Take Great Britain, for an example. The conquests of 
that kingdom by Julius Caesar, by the Saxons, the Danes, and 
the Normans, are all on record, and constitute distinctly- 
marked epochs of history. But who can tell us when and 
how Christianity won its more thorough and enduring con- 
quest, penetrating where the arms of the Roman, the Dane, 
and the Saxon could not reach, and converting tribes of the 
rudest heathen into civilized and Christian men ? It is, in- 
deed, said that Augustine and a few other monks were once 
sent as missionaries to Britain ; but how feeble an instrumen- 
tality to accomplish a work a thousand times more extensive 
and important than all the conquests to which Britain has 
ever been subject, or which she has made by her arms since 
her political existence began. Had there not been an unseen, 
self-propagating power to carry forward the work, begun 
only in here and there a spot by humble missionaries, the 
whole mass could never have been so thoroughly per- 
meated. 

The same fact exhibits itself when we compare Christian 
with pagan or Mohammedan nations. In the latter you meet 
with much more of the external manifestations of religion 
than in the former. Temples, images, processions, public 
prayers, and other rites, are rife every where ; but, after all, 
you perceive that little influence, save an injurious one, is 
exerted in such countries upon the public morals, manners, or 
welfare ; yet, in Christian lands, it is manifest that an influ- 
ence has gone deeper into the public heart and conscience ; 
and hence you find more kindness, amenity, and decency, 
more of civilization, and respect for morality and piety. The 
rude and ferocious elements of human nature are more tamed 



238 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

and moulded by Christian influences than by pagan or Mo- 
hammedan. 

I believe this is true of all nominally Christian lands, al- 
though we must confess that, in many of them, the gospel has 
been well nigh deprived of its vitality, and little more than its 
external covering remains. But even there Christianity exerts 
a decidedly better influence than the most refined system of 
human invention. Moreover, we may impute whatever of 
good moral influence is exerted by Mohammedanism to the 
principles • — and these are not few and unimportant — which 
it has purloined from the Bible. 

Again, you will find that just in proportion as Christianity 
has been corrupted, and the Bible is withheld from circulation 
among the people, will the literary, civil, social, and moral 
condition of a nation be degraded. Suppose you had the 
power to pass suddenly from such a country as New Eng- 
land, or Old England, or Scotland, into Austria, Russia, 
Spain, or France. Would you need a geographer to tell you 
that you were in a land where a withering blight had come 
over the pure gospel ? While you would meet crucifixes, 
oratories, cathedrals, chapels, and confessionals every where, 
you would find the Bible nowhere. And while you would hear 
Te Deums, and chanted prayers, and the praises of the virgin 
and the saints in all places of worship, and on all days and 
hours, you would listen in vain for unadulterated gospel truth 
at any time. And while the antiquated walls of monasteries 
and convents would meet you in every place, the academy 
and the school house would be wanting in all places. And 
when you became acquainted with the character of the great 
body of the population in those lands, you could not doubt 
that the gospel, which you had seen doing so much in the 
country from which you came to elevate, enlighten, and bless, 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 239 

was here shorn of the lock of its strength, and had been 
moulded and trimmed to adapt it to systems of superstition, 
ignorance, intolerance, and despotism. 

The whole history of the missionary enterprise, foreign 
and domestic, affords decisive proof of the leavening influence 
of the gospel. To mere worldly wisdom, the most striking 
feature of that enterprise is the total inadequacy between the 
means employed and the expected results. When a man, 
who has been accustomed to estimate the amount of outlay 
and preparation requisite in any successful undertaking in 
commerce, manufactures, or agriculture, or who knows the 
amount of effort necessary in a successful political campaign, 
— when such a man looks at the very slender instrumentality 
which the ablest missionary societies employ for the conver- 
sion of the world, it seems to him a want of wisdom amount- 
ing to infatuation to go forward. Why, men are more tena- 
cious of their false systems of religion than of any thing 
else ; and yet you send one, or two, or half a dozen plain, 
powerless men among twenty or fifty millions, and are disap- 
pointed if, in a few years, you do not hear of numerous 
conversions. 

Alike inefficacious do such feeble instrumentalities appear 
to the heathen and the Mohammedans themselves ! And this 
is one of the grounds on which missionaries are allowed to 
pursue their work unmolested in countries most hostile to 
their plans. Imagine, for instance, that the Emperor of 
China, or the Shah of Persia, or the Sultan of Turkey should 
learn that one, or two, or even half a dozen unarmed, inof- 
fensive men had taken up their abode in Canton, or Oroo- 
miah, or Constantinople, with a view to preach the doctrines 
of Christianity, and to teach the principles of human science 
and literature to the young. Do you think that either of 



240 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

these despots would have any fears excited that the estab- 
lished religion of the country was in danger ? Would he not 
treat the suggestion with contempt, and look on the mission- 
aries as deluded men, whose efforts to proselyte would be 
harmless, and whose literary instructions would be valuable 
to the empire, and therefore their residence might be toler- 
ated ? And if a British minister would be gratified by having 
these teachers protected, how ready would he be to issue the 
decree which should place them and their followers on a foot- 
ing with their other Christian subjects. But let these rulers 
learn something of the catalytic power of the gospel, by see- 
ing multitudes converted, as if by a mysterious influence, and 
you would see the sword of persecution unsheathed and mar- 
tyrs multiplied. And it is mainly because such conversions 
have not been in general extensive enough to arrest the atten- 
tion of rulers, that persecutions by the government are so in- 
frequent. I fear that they are yet to put the faith and courage 
of the church severely to the test. For by and by, heathen 
and Mohammedan nations will learn that the leaven of the 
gospel, hid in the community by the humble missionary, has, 
unperceived, sent its transforming power through the whole 
torpid mass, and that their false systems are crumbling into 
ruins. 

A still more manifest example of this mighty though unno- 
ticed influence is often seen in our own land, when the do- 
mestic Missionary Society sends its benevolent agencies into 
some waste place where iniquity is triumphant. In such a 
place are found, it may be, a few humble Christians, but the 
wealth, the fashion, and worldly influence are all hostile to 
the truth ; and when the missionary calls around him the few 
followers of Christ at the prayer meeting and in the church, 
it only makes matter for amusement and ridicule among 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 241 

others, who, in view of the apparent feebleness of the instru- 
mentality, exclaim, with Sanballat and Tobiah of old, What 
do these feeble Christians 7 Will they revive the stones out 
of the heaps of the rubbish which are burned ? Even that 
which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down 
their stone wall. But the despised leaven silently operates ; 
God's Spirit comes down to urge the movement forward, and 
the great mountain that seemed so strong crumbles down and 
becomes a plain. The gospel triumphs ; decency and refine- 
ment of manners take the place of obscenity and vulgarity ; 
temperance succeeds to drunkenness ; peace to discord ; thrift 
and enterprise to decay and poverty ; and spiritual religion to 
errors of every name. Yet so quietly was the change effect- 
ed through the gospel's catalytic power, that opposition and 
scepticism stand amazed. 

From this principle of the self-propagating power of the 
gospel, thus established, w T e may derive inferences of great 
importance, and eminently adapted to encourage and strength- 
en those engaged in the missionary enterprise, whether do- 
mestic or foreign. Indeed, since the recent rapid expansion 
of our population across this broad continent, these terms, do- 
mestic and foreign, have become nearly synonymous. 

In the first place, this subject should inspire us with strong 
confidence in the power of divine truth. 

The current of worldliness often sets so strongly against 
the truth, and the means appointed for its diffusion seem so 
simple and inadequate, that we are apt to be disheartened, and 
to forget the mighty power which the doctrines of the gospel 
possess to work their way amid obstacles, and become mighty 
through God to the pulling down of strong holds. But when 
we recollect what that truth has done in time past, how it has 
transformed whole nations as if by magic, how at this mo- 
21 



242 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

ment, abused and perverted as we know it to be, it makes 
Christian nations stand out on the world's panorama so con- 
spicuously, and when we think of its wonderful adaptation to 
the deepest wants of man, and what a stern advocate it finds 
in the human conscience, and especially how thorough is the 
renovation of the individual who gives himself up entirely to 
its influence, we ought to be ashamed of our distrust of its 
power, and to feel that we have in our hands an instrument 
which, by God's blessing, can and will create anew and sanc- 
tify our lost world. So that wherever we have an opportunity 
to bring the gospel in contact with the human conscience and 
reason, we ought to urge its claims with as undoubted an as- 
surance of its efficacy as a woman exercises when she hides 
only a modicum of leaven in three measures of meal. 

Secondly, the subject is full of encouragement to those who 
are laboring in weakness with great obstacles and dis- 
couragements, in the dissemination of the truths of the 
gospel. 

Let them remember that the leaven, when mixed with the 
meal, seems to be lost, and little or no visible effect is pro- 
duced, until at length it is found that the whole loaf is thorough- 
ly leavened. Let them remember, too, that the pure gospel, 
when brought in contact with men's consciences, is as sure to 
commence a catalytic process there, as good leaven is in the 
meal, although without special grace it will not result in con- 
version. Nor will the laborer, perhaps, perceive any good 
effect produced for a long time, and possibly not while he 
lives. But moral reformations usually move very slowly on- 
ward. It needs time for the leaven to work. And in many 
cases the sower is not permitted to gather the sheaves. But 
if they are finally reaped, he that soweth and he that reapeth 
will rejoice together. Let him who is faithful in doing his 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 243 

duty in some barren field of labor, be assured that the truth 
has never yet failed to manifest, sooner or later, its transform- 
ing power. His field of labor may be narrow, and his dis- 
couragements many ; but let him bear in mind that he has 
a mighty instrument to work with, and an almighty God 
pledged to sustain him. 

In the third place, the subject shows the fallacy of the doc- 
trine, that the world is growing worse, and will continue to 
grow worse, in spite of all efforts to spread the gospel. 

The world does indeed abound with wickedness, and often 
the success of the truth in a place is the occasion of a grosser 
development of iniquity. But the truth has the advantage, 
because it meets and satisfies man's highest wants so complete- 
ly, and enlists in its favor the human conscience. And 
whence arises this want of confidence in the truth, as an in- 
strument of the world's conversion, among these our brethren, 
some of whom are missionaries, and yet they do not believe 
the world can be converted by the gospel, but will continue to 
grow worse till the Saviour makes a visible display of his 
power ? Have they not felt the power of truth in their own 
souls ? and have they not seen its mighty efficacy upon the 
souls of others ? Do they doubt its ability, when applied by 
God's Spirit, to convert the world ? If the world is growing 
worse, how happens it that all Christian nations, even where 
the gospel is dreadfully perverted, are so far superior in char- 
acter and condition to pagan and Mohammedan nations ? 
Surely these men forget the catalytic power of the gospel, as 
developed in history. True, the improved physical, social, 
and intellectual condition of a nation is far from being its 
conversion to God. But it is an important prerequisite to that 
conversion. And it does imply that some in that nation are 
truly converted ; and why is not all this an earnest of the 



244 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

final and complete triumph of pure religion, if its compara- 
tively few genuine disciples do their duty ? For every acces- 
sion to their number increases their power ; and why may not 
that leavening influence go on till it has reached the world's 
entire population ? 

In the gospel, then, you have an agency abundantly ade- 
quate to the work ; and why then call in miraculous power ? 
for we know that it is a settled principle of the divine gov- 
ernment, not to work a miracle when established agencies are 
sufficient. 

Finally, this subject should greatly encourage and ani- 
mate the hopes and efforts of those engaged in the work of 
missions. 

They learn from it that they need not be discouraged, 
though the common ^principles by which men judge of the 
probable success of their enterprises, should show their chance 
to be small. The fact that they are following a divine com- 
mand, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every 
creature, may, indeed, be sufficient to give them courage and 
perseverance amid powerful difficulties. But it is important, 
also, to know what an extraordinary instrument they possess 
for carrying on the enterprise ; how it works its way into the 
hearts of men, and silently changes their characters and the 
whole aspect of society, and sends down an influence, they 
cannot tell how far, into generations unborn. It is, indeed, 
quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, pier- 
cing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and 
of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts 
and intents of the heart. It takes a stronger hold of society 
than all other influences, and abides longer. Its secret energy 
rouses human society into action, and propagates the catalytic 
change from individual to individual, from family to family, 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 245 

from community to community, and sometimes from kingdom 
to kingdom. Nor can the missionary tell, when he deposits the 
leaven of the gospel in one spot, even though scarcely heeded 
there, but he has started a process which shall go radiating 
outwards over a whole continent ; for thus it has often done. 

But though thus adapted to cheer the missionary in every 
land, this principle affords much more encouragement in some 
countries than in others ; and most of all, on American soil ; 
to the home missionary here. To prove and illustrate this 
from the analogies of my text, let us recur to certain facts 
respecting catalytic operations in nature, which I neglected at 
the commencement of this discourse. 

The essential principle to w T hich I mainly refer is this : that 
in order to make leaven or any other catalytic agent operate, it 
is necessary that the mass to be leavened should be in a certain 
state, as to consistency, temperature, and permeability. The 
baker well knows that it is of no use to hide leaven in a mass 
of frozen dough, nor unless its temperature is a good deal 
above the freezing point. So if from any other cause it has 
become condensed and rigid, the leaven cannot spread itself 
among the particles, and little or no effect will be produced, 
even though the leaven be in the best condition. 

Apply now these principles to the dissemination of the gos- 
pel. Attempt to propagate its truths in a country where hea- 
thenism, or Mohammedanism, or corrupt Christianity, is firmly 
established, is sustained by the learned few, and the ignorant 
and superstitious many, and by wealth and influence ; is 
linked inseparably to the government, and can show a long 
list of illustrious defenders. By such causes the false system 
has been knit firmly together, and is settled down into a hard, 
impenetrable mass, which resists all change. Without a mir- 
acle you would expect that if the truth should make any head- 
21* 



246 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

way, it would be slow and difficult. Whereas in a nation 
where a false religious system sits loose upon the people, and 
has little social or governmental support, and especially where 
commerce, education, and free principles are breaking up the 
torpid and indurated mass, the way is prepared for the gos- 
pel's catalytic power to show its mighty transforming energy. 

Facts now corroborate the truth of these principles. For 
never has the gospel made rapid progress in any country 
where a false system of religion has intrenched itself behind 
the prejudices, the social habits, the pecuniary interests, the 
splendor of rites and forms, and governmental favor ; and its 
most signal triumphs have been witnessed where the false sys- 
tem has but a feeble hold upon the public mind, or men have 
begun to think for themselves. Certain conditions seem ne- 
cessary, in order that the leaven may work ; nor where these 
are wanting are we to expect success, any more than that the 
laws of chemistry will be set aside in the process of bread 
making. God does sometimes, indeed, give unexpected suc- 
cess by the power of his Spirit, to show that, after all, the 
efficiency lies with him. But such cases are exceptions, 
which we cannot calculate upon, and are not our rule of judg- 
ment or of duty. 

From these principles we should confidently infer, that Mo- 
hammedanism, and especially popery, would offer more pow- 
erful obstructions to the spread of the gospel than any other 
systems of error. Hence it is, that while missionary stations 
are multiplied among the heathen, they are yet so few in the 
great centres of Mohammedan and Papal influence in Asia 
and Europe. Nor can we doubt, that long after every heathen 
pagoda has been converted into a Christian temple, — nay, 
long after the Bible shall have supplanted the Koran in every 
mosque and minaret, — will the perverted Christianity of 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 247 

forms, propped up by leagues and bayonets, present its yet 
unbroken front, to be breached only in the battle of that great 
day of God Almighty. 

On the other hand, from these same principles, we infer 
that nowhere on earth is there such a preparation for the 
spread of pure Christianity as in our own land. Here we 
have no inert and indurated mass of dead formalism to break 
up ; no frozen and petrified system of rites and ceremonies 
to arrest the leavening process ; no iron arm of government 
to check the onward movement. But the genial light and 
warmth of free institutions and of general education have 
brought the community into a state most favorable for receiv- 
ing the gospel and giving it free course. Wherever faithfully 
planted, it is sure to communicate and spread its vitalizing in- 
fluence outward and onward ; and if Christians will only do 
their duty, they may be sure that the whole land will be 
leavened. 

And here I ought to mention another chemical principle 
that has a parallel in the condition of our country. Chemists 
tell us that elements in their nascent state — that is, when first 
produced — unite far more readily than they do afterwards. 
Now, the elements of our social condition are as yet, in a 
great measure, in a nascent state, and therefore more ready 
to be operated upon and form valuable combinations than in 
the old world, where every thing has long since become im- 
movably fixed, either by affinities within or pressure without. 
O, how important that the gospel exert its catalytic power 
upon our population, before that same binding and paralyzing 
process pass upon them ! The wide world does not furnish 
another field of missionary labor so promising. I mean not 
by this, that other countries are not open to the gospel, and 
that missionary efforts should be limited to our own land. 



248 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

God bless these efforts and increase them a hundred fold in 
every land. But I do mean, that our country preeminently 
invites and demands efforts for its evangelization. I do mean, 
that it is a more promising and a more important field than 
any other on the globe, and therefore calls for every heart 
and every hand to engage in it. 

Do I seem to any to be taking too strong ground ? Let me 
propose to them an experiment, which I sincerely wish all my 
hearers could try, to test this opinion. Let them take the next 
steamer across the Atlantic, and in one fortnight they would 
find themselves on ground very favorable for a comparison. 
They would be traversing lands where state religions exist, 
with all their pompous and imposing rites and ceremonies, 
with their exclusive and intolerant spirit, and their hostility to 
freedom of opinion, and to all that is vital in personal piety. 
Religion there is sustained by governmental decrees and by 
bayonets. Throttled in the embraces of the state, its lifeless 
form is made use of as a speaking trumpet, through which 
are proclaimed, not the doctrines of God, but of man ; such 
as the divine right of kings, the duty of unreserved submis- 
sion to the government and the church ; the infallibility of the 
church, not of the Bible. The sweet countenance of gospel 
charity has been changed into that of a persecuting fiend ; 
and the snaky locks of a Gorgon cover her head, freezing and 
petrifying all around. All places are full of religious forms, 
but alas ! to find its power you must search long and deep. 
The very highways are studded with crosses and crucified 
Christs, with oratories and images of the virgin, while the 
towns abound with vast and venerable cathedrals and chapels, 
full of golden images, splendid paintings, and sacred relics ; 
and the magnificent organ peals along the sounding arches 
and thrills the wondering soul, as the gilded priests chant 



THE CATALYTIC TOWER OF THE GOSPEL. 249 

their Te Deums, their Pater Nosters, and their Ave Marias. 
You enter the convent at the sound of the vesper bell, and a 
thousand white-veiled nuns are kneeling around you, and gor- 
geous music lends enchantment to the vesper hymn. Every 
where in the streets you meet the cassocked priest, and often the 
imposing procession, while the multitudes uncover their heads 
as it passes. In short, to an American, accustomed to the sim- 
plicity of our modes of worship, the most prominent feature 
in European lands, save in the glorious fast-anchored isle, — 
and even there to great extent, — is, that in spite of the most 
imposing externals, the whole is little more than heartless for- 
mality — a wretched substitute for the bread of life. Yet 
when he sees how firmly rooted is this system in the pride 
and prejudice, the worldly interest, the interests of despotic 
governments, and a swarming priesthood, and how it is woven 
into the very texture of society, he cannot but feel that little 
short of a miracle will be required for effecting a revolution. 
With what deep interest, then, after only a few weeks of 
such observation in those lands, will the heart of the Christian 
American turn towards his own country ! In the hallowed 
language of our gubernatorial proclamations, he will exclaim, 
" God save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts ! " Save her 
religion from the base alloy of formalism, superstition, and 
intolerance. Save her system of education from the blighting 
touch of aristocracy and priestcraft. Save her free institu- 
tions from the savage ferocity of the ignorant and unprin- 
cipled many, and the grinding oppression of the despotic few. 
Save her, for the sake of the country. And God save that 
whole country, for her own sake, and the sake of the world. 
For to save her is to save the world ; and to lose her is to lose 
the world. 

It needs only a short pilgrimage through the old world to 



250 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

excite such sentiments as these in the heart of a Massachu- 
setts American. And his prayer to God will be, that he may- 
live to go back and labor harder than he has ever done, to 
build up the cause of pure religion, of learning, and of free- 
dom, in that land which he has now learned to be the only one 
on earth where, for the present, this indissoluble trio of noble 
institutions has any chance of wide-spread success. And if 
this man learns only this lesson by his foreign tour, it is 
worth all the sacrifice and expense of ten thousand miles of 
voyage and travel. 

What a noble work, then, is committed to our hands! 
What an inviting field has the Home Missionary Society be- 
fore it ! The man who enters it finds society not only in a 
state more favorable for casting in the leaven of the gospel, 
but that the influence of his labors is felt almost to the ends 
of the earth. Let him be laboring to build up some obscure 
waste place, say in Massachusetts. He may seem to be un- 
noticed and neglected. But he is doing his part towards sus- 
taining and perpetuating the free and the religious institutions 
of the country, and therefore, in fact, the eyes of many mil- 
lions in Europe are watching his labors with deep interest, 
and with earnest prayers for his fidelity ; for their chief hope 
of the world's emancipation rests on the success of civil and 
religious liberty here. And if the true gospel be not preached 
and received among us, free institutions must for the present 
fail. In preaching the gospel, therefore, in the obscurest 
nook of the land, a man may feel that he is working for the 
whole country, nay, for the whole world. Indeed, Providence 
is sending representations from the whole world to our doors. 
By multitudes they pour in upon us from every European 
land, and swarms of Asiatics are crowding into the valleys 
of California. So that in fact we may become missionaries 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 251 

to Papists, Mohammedans, Boodhists, and other heathen, 
without leaving our own shores. 

What responsibility, then, attaches to the name and posi- 
tion of an American ! When, in foreign lands, I have met 
kings and queens, dukes and marquises, counts and viscounts, 
they appeared to be men and women of only the ordinary 
stature ; but when I first set my foot again upon our own 
shores, and met free-born Christian Americans, it seemed to 
me that I was looking upon giants, because God has given 
them the power of giants to bear up the pillars of freedom, 
of education, and of religion, and to cast down the pillars of 
ignorance, superstition, and despotism. 

If your patience is not quite exhausted, allow me to add 
one or two further suggestions, growing out of a scientific 
view of the text. 

In order that leaven should operate effectually, or even 
operate at all, it must itself be in an active condition, and of 
a proper temperature. In proportion as its thermometric 
state is too high or too low, or if there be an admixture of 
inert substances, or its own decomposition be slow or partial, 
will its catalytic power be diminished. It must be in such a 
condition that a living plant can flourish within it. For if 
there be no life in it, no vital power will be communicated to 
the surrounding mass. 

So it is with the moral leaven of the gospel. If its purity 
be marred by an admixture of error and vain speculation, or 
if it be cast into the community distorted by ignorance, or 
disfigured and blackened by the fires of fanaticism, or en- 
veloped in the ice of formalism, feeble will be its influence, 
if indeed it do not become a nuisance. Instead of proving 
the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation, 
men will see in it only the weakness of human wisdom and 



252 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

strength, overpowered by the superior might of human de- 
pravity. 

Now, it is this perverted and deficient gospel, that too often 
fiuds its way into our waste places, into our new settlements, 
and among the floating population of our cities. It has the 
name of Christianity, and usually contains some truth, but a 
larger proportion of error ; so that while it produces traces 
of religion, it shows more of fanaticism, or bigotry, or self- 
righteousness and formalism. How important, then, that into 
fields thus grown over with briers and weeds, a pure and holy 
gospel should be carried by pure and holy men ! Those en- 
gaged in sending this gospel abroad, through our Home Mis- 
sionary Societies, should have their piety in that living, active 
condition, without which their prayers, example, and efforts 
will only deepen the spiritual slumbers of ignorance and sin. 
And still more important is it, that the direct agents in this 
work should preach an unadulterated gospel, not only by their 
voices but by their lives. 

Finally, astonishing as is the power of leaven to change 
the mass into which it is cast, there is a limit to that power. 
One part may, indeed, transform two thousand parts of the 
meal ; but if the latter be increased much beyond that pro- 
portion, not only will all the excess remain unaffected, but it 
will operate to prevent the leaven from producing its full 
effect. Nay, it may nearly or quite destroy that effect. 
Hence, if the leaven and the mass to be leavened be enor- 
mously disproportionate, the best leaven may become 
powerless. 

Now, to apply this principle to home missionary efforts, I 
fear, my brethren, that this is just what we are doing in our 
country. The mass to be leavened by the gospel is out of all 
proportion to the means employed. In 1850, we built be- 



THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 253 

tween four and five thousand miles of railroad, at an average 
cost of fifty thousand dollars per mile. During that same 
year, we expended only enough upon domestic missions to 
construct five miles of railway. And railways are only one 
branch of American enterprise out of many. How exceed- 
ingly small, then, must be the proportion of our pecuniary 
means devoted to an enterprise which transcends all others in 
our country in importance ! For if that fail, all others will be 
smitten with a deadly blight. Irreligion cannot triumph with- 
out trampling in the dust our systems of general education, 
of public enterprise and freedom, and crushing the hopes of 
liberty through the earth. Our hopes, therefore, must centre 
in the Home Missionary cause. We make enormous outlays, 
and labor without weariness to advance our worldly schemes, 
and that, too, where the means employed have little or none 
of the catalytic power inherent in the gospel, and where the 
results bear no proportion in importance to the work of Home 
Missions. God has committed to American Christians the 
noblest enterprise which he has given to the present genera- 
tion in any part of the world. And he has put into our 
hands an instrument with which to accomplish it, a thousand 
times more efficacious than those employed in commerce, in 
manufactures, in agriculture, or indeed any ordinary art or 
pursuit. How dwarfed must be our piety, how low our stan- 
dard of patriotism, how contemptible our philanthropy, if we 
do not supply the means necessary to prevent the leaven of 
the gospel from being overpowered and neutralized by igno- 
rance and depravity ! Ought we to be satisfied to expend 
fifty million dollars annually for railways, and only one thou- 
sandth part as much in working out the grandest problem in 
politics, in education and religion, of this generation ? O, if 
any cause has motives powerful enough to rouse men to 
22 



254 THE CATALYTIC POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 

action, it is this. If we enter into the work resolutely and 
cheerfully, with humble reliance on God's help, we are sure 
of success. And success will bring such a day of brightness 
and blessing to this wide continent, as never yet has visited 
any other. Though the deluge of ignorance, despotism, and 
false religion should ingulf every other land, ours shall stand 
high above the flood, and beat back its angry waves ; and, ere 
the close of the present century, one hundred millions of 
Christian freemen shall here be found richly enjoying those 
social, political, educational, and religious rights and privi- 
leges, which God originally gave, but which man has hith- 
erto unrighteously withheld. 



THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 
ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 



For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart and to be with 
Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more 
needful for you. — Philippians i. 23, 24. 

Attraction and repulsion are the two great principles by 
which the spiritual, as well as the material, world is con- 
trolled. The former tends to unite mind to mind and matter 
to matter, the latter to drive them asunder. And the struggle 
that is going on between them originates most of the move- 
ments of matter and of mind in the universe. When we 
speak, however, of mental attractions and repulsions, we use 
language figuratively. We mean by the first only those 
mutual affections which unite those who have similar opinions, 
and feelings, and aims ; and by the latter we mean those 
antipathies which result from dissimilar opinions, feelings, and 
aims. There is, however, a strong analogy between the 
literal attractions and repulsions of matter and the affections 
and antipathies of mind, so that the latter may be illustrated 
by the former. And to some illustrations of this sort I wish 
to call your attention at this time. 

The text represents Paul as almost balanced between two 
powerful attractions — those of heaven and those of earth. 

(255) 



258 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

So far as his own happiness was concerned, the attractions 
of the heavenly world were vastly the more powerful ; for 
he says that to depart and be with Christ is letter beyond 
expression — using the strongest superlative in the Greek 
language, and to which we have no phrase exactly corre- 
sponding, but which Dr. Doddridge renders by the words let- 
ter leyond expression. When he thought of the glories of 
the heavenly state, and of being admitted to the immediate 
society of Christ, his heart was drawn upward by an almost 
overwhelming force. But when he thought of leaving his 
Christian friends and converts in a dangerous world, and that 
by his continuance with them he might help them in their 
spiritual warfare, and be the means of the conversion of 
others, he felt the ties that bound him to his friends, and his 
duty holding him to the world with an equal power ; so that, 
upon the whole, he could not decide in which direction he 
was more forcibly drawn. 

The attractions of heaven and of earth are the two great 
influences by which men in all ages, and especially Christian 
men, are governed. Very few indeed are in doubt which is 
the stronger force ; for, alas ! most of us know very well that 
our hearts cleave to this world with almost irresistible im- 
pulse, while heaven seems distant and but feebly attractive. 
Still we shall find, now and at all times, some at almost every 
point along the scale between the extremes of entire devotion 
to the world and entire devotion to God ; and it may not be 
unprofitable to spend a few moments in drawing some illus- 
trations of the mode in which these two influences operate 
from the laws of attraction which control the heavenly bodies, 
as they are developed by the researches of modern astron- 
omy. Most of these illustrations are derived from the manner 
in which the earth, moon, and sun operate upon one another 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 257 

— the sun representing heaven, the moon the Christian, and 
the earth the central point of all influences which act on man 
this side eternity. 

And here I ought, probably, to apologize for an innovation 
which I shall venture to make upon the usual mode of ser- 
monizing, by the introduction of a few sensible illustrations, 
or diagrams, to make my meaning intelligible and impressive. 
My reasons for this course are the following : First, I do not 
suppose I could otherwise make my meaning clear even to a 
highly intelligent audience ; secondly, the only object of the 
diagrams is to make scientific truths understood and remem- 
bered, not to indulge in curious scientific speculations ; third- 
ly, I conceive that the religious applications of science are its 
most important use ; and I know not how such a use can be 
made of science, if we may not employ enough of sensible 
illustrations to make its truths clearly understood. However, 
if the novel course which I adopt seem objectionable to any 
after I shall have finished, let it be condemned. But when I 
recollect how often science has been used in opposition to 
religion, I do not anticipate condemnation in this attempt to 
make it auxiliary to the sacred cause of holiness, although the 
object of my illustrations is not to prove any point, but merely 
to elucidate and impress religious truth. 

In the first place, in order to cause any body to revolve 
around a larger one in a circular orbit, so as to be always 
equidistant from it, it is necessary that a certain amount of 
force be imparted to the revolving body, and in a certain 
direction. In the case of the planets, the two forces are so 
balanced as to produce a nearly circular motion ; but in the 
case of the comets, they are so unequal, — the impulsive or 
tangential force so predominates over the attractive, — that 
they move in elliptical orbits. Now, let us imagine the earth 
22* 



258 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

(E, Fig. 1, Frontispiece)* moving in a circular orbit around 
the sun, (S,) by a proper equilibrium of the two acting forces, 
and at a certain point of its orbit (say E) to receive a new 
impulse in the direction of its motion. The consequence 
would be to change its orbit from a circle to an ellipse. It 
would, however, return to the place where the additional force 
was given ; and when it reached that point, which would be 
the perihelion of its orbit, suppose it to receive another new 
impulse, and at each return another. The effect would be 
to make it revolve in orbits more and more eccentric, until 
at length they could not be distinguished from what the math- 
ematicians call a parabola — a curve which never returns into 
itself. In other words, the earth would at last go off to a 
returnless distance, or beyond the control of the centre 
around which it had revolved. 

Make another supposition. Imagine the earth, when re- 
volving in a circle, at a certain point of its orbit (E, Fig. 2) 
to come under the influence of an impulsive force which, like 
gravity, shall ever afterwards continue to act upon it. The 
effects will be, that it will receive a constantly increasing 
velocity, and consequently will be continually receding farther 
and farther from the centre, describing a sort of helix, which 
never returns into itself. Thus would the body be carried an 
infinite or returnless distance from the centre. 

These two cases, it appears to me, afford a good illustra- 
tion of professed Christians who act under the influence of 
impulses derived neither from the Bible nor the Spirit of 
God. So long as they are controlled by the divine Spirit, or 
by motives derived from the Bible, they will move around the 

* In all the figures, the body colored yellow represents the sun, the green 
one the earth, and the red one the moon. 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 259 

great Centre of light and love in circular paths with uniform 
motion and steady light. But whenever they give themselves 
up to other impulses, from whatever quarter, they are sure to 
be carried farther and farther from God in eccentric paths ; 
and nothing but his interposition can save them from flying 
off beyond the hope of return. 

Take the case of the man who gives himself up to the 
influence of worldly impulses. Its riches, honors, or pleas- 
ures become the powerful controllers of his movements, and 
urge him forward with a constantly accelerated force. Reli- 
gion has not lost its hold upon his conscience ; and he still 
fancies that he is revolving around the law of God, as the 
centre of attraction. But to all others it is obvious he is 
flying off farther and farther from that centre, and therefore 
getting more and more out of its control. Like the revolving 
earth, when, as I have supposed, it receives a new and con- 
stantly accelerating impulse, the path of this Christian con- 
forms less and less to the divine law ; he feels less and less 
the power of heavenly things, and they seem more distant. 
The light of God's countenance becomes fainter and feebler. 
Meanwhile the impelling power, the love of the world, rapidly 
gains strength ; and in a little time, without being conscious 
of it himself, and unless special, marvellous, I had almost said 
miraculous grace bring him back, he will become a wander- 
ing star, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness 
forever. 

Or take the case of the Christian controlled and impelled 
by spiritual pride. Harmoniously and beautifully did he 
commence his revolutions around divine love, as the centre 
of attraction, and with a sense of duty to impel him onward. 
But he chanced to discover his own picture in the glass of 
vanity, and made it his idol. Spiritual pride came in at once 



260 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

and took the control of his heart ; and now, instead of wor- 
shipping God, he adores his own exalted piety. Bigoted and 
censorious towards others, he can see no loveliness in their 
characters, nor tolerate any thing that does not conform to 
his own selfish standard. While he boasts of his religious 
enjoyment, and fancies himself living near to God, he is in 
fact driven so far from God that it would be strange if he 
should ever return. 

Next comes the case of the fanatic. A frenzied zeal took 
the place, in his heart, of that charity which sufFereth long and 
is kind, by which he seemed to be controlled in the early days 
of his religious course. That zeal did, indeed, greatly quicken 
his race, but it was only to drive him farther from the true 
source of all knowledge and light ; and away he went, with 
lightning speed, into the region of ignes fatui, which he mis- 
took for the Sun of Righteousness ; and the wild dreams of 
fancy which were floating in that limbo he mistook for new 
revelations ; and the sparks of his own kindling he took to be 
fire from heaven. The word of God he interpreted by im- 
pulses, instead of sound learning, which he regarded as a 
satanic delusion. Impelled by passion himself, he strove to 
urge others forward by the same blind impulse ; and reason 
in religion he denounced as the enemy of all proper zeal in 
the cause of God. The divine prophecies he interpreted, 
too, by impressions, and made up for deficiencies by inter- 
larding his own dreams and fancies. With him, some terri- 
ble event — the downfall of an empire, the devastations of 
an earthquake or a volcano, a wasting sickness, the second 
coming of Christ, or the destruction of the world — was al- 
ways near at hand, and for the best of reasons, viz., his own 
strong impressions. Such a man as this often shows, never- 
theless, some valuable fragment of Christian feeling and con- 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 261 

duct. But in what an eccentric orbit does he revolve ! His 
eccentricities usually become greater and greater, until at last 
he flies off in an orbit which carries him entirely out of the re- 
gions of common sense and rational religion — never to return. 
A case, however, may be quoted from the opposite extreme. 
A man begins his religious course in a circular orbit — that 
is, there is a proper balance in his mind between the influences 
and principles that form a religious character. He bows 
down to the authority of the Bible, and receives it as a little 
child. With him, it is evidence enough for any doctrine or 
precept if he can be assured that God has announced it. But 
at length his heart begins to be less interested in religious 
things, and a spirit of speculation and scepticism takes pos- 
session of his mind, and becomes a new and mighty impulsive 
power which carries him rapidly away from the quiet path in 
which he had been moving. He soon finds religion to be 
full of difficulties which he cannot solve. Having broken 
loose from his former principle, that he would implicitly re- 
ceive whatever statements God had made, and which formed 
his sheet anchor, he is now adrift on the stormy sea of spec- 
ulation, with human reasoning only for his compass. One 
doctrine after another, fairly subjected, as he fancies, to this 
ordeal, and found wanting, he throws overboard, until his 
creed has become a mere wreck of old opinions, with noth- 
ing in their place. His increasing scepticism calls forth the 
animadversions of his Christian brethren ; and this wakens in 
him a pride of opinion to defend his new views. He soon 
finds, however, that the full inspiration of the Scriptures stands 
in his way ; and he clearly perceives that the sacred writers 
sometimes reason incorrectly, and therefore they sometimes 
reason without inspiration. Thus is he driven farther and 
farther away from the controlling influence of the Bible by 



262 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

the new and powerful impulse which speculation and scepti- 
cism have given him ; and the more the Bible and its doc- 
trines sink in his estimation, the less is the hold of practical 
religion over his heart. In short, his patfr is becoming wider 
and wider from God and heaven, and of course their power 
over his heart and conscience is less, while the force which 
urges him away from God is gathering strength ; nor can we 
have any hope but in the all-powerful grace of God that his 
wanderings will ever cease. 

I proceed to a second illustration, which may be derived 
from the relative situation and mutual attraction of the sun, 
earth, and moon. When the moon is exactly between the 
earth and sun, it is obvious that it will be attracted in opposite 
directions by these bodies ; and it is only because it is so 
much nearer the earth than the sun, that it is not at once 
drawn away towards the latter so as utterly to forsake the 
former. It is easy, now, to conceive that it might be re- 
moved so near to the sun, (say to A, Fig. 5,) that it should 
henceforth cease to be governed in its movements by the 
earth, and obey only the attractive influence of the sun. On 
the other hand, it might be brought so near the earth, — 
certainly, if brought in contact with it, (say to B,) — as to be 
governed entirely by it, and no longer be affected by the 
sun's attraction, except as constituting a part of the earth. 

This last supposition reminds us of the individual who has 
suffered the love of the world to gain so strong a hold upon 
him that he is beyond the reach of the influence of religion. 
He cleaves to the world as firmly as the moon would, should 
she fall from her orbit. Heaven, with all its glories, exerts 
upon him apparently no power. It matters not that all in the 
universe which is pure, and noble, and truly worthy is there 
assembled. They have no charms for him. There are un- 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 263 

folded in infinite splendor the glories of the eternal God ; and 
there the Lamb that was slain is enthroned the chiefest 
among ten thousands, and altogether lovely. There is gath- 
ered in sweet communion and everlasting love the countless 
throng of the angels of light ; and as they take up their golden 
harps, the whole company of the redeemed from earth join 
in the sweet song of Moses and the Lamb. It is the New 
Jerusalem, whose foundations are precious stones, whose 
gates are pearls, and whose pavements are gold; the city 
through which flows the river of the water of life, with the 
tree of life on its banks ; the city whence all that is sinful and 
all that is mortal is forever excluded ; the city where every 
thing grand, and beautiful, and attractive to a pure mind 
meets together. And yet this man can look with stupid un- 
concern upon the picture, and feel not one desire to be of the 
number who are admitted to its joys. Nay, he turns away 
with loathing from the sight, and says to the vanities of the 
world, These be my portion — these the objects to which my 
heart cleaves with fond desire, and which I prefer to heaven. 
O, is it not a contemptible choice for an immortal soul, made 
in the image of God ? And yet it is a most common choice. 
All around us we see multitudes deliberately preferring earth 
to heaven — a world of change, of ignorance, sin, sickness, 
and death, to a world where all is permanent, and holy, and 
happy. 

But, blessed be the power of God's grace, there are 
some who have given up their hearts to the full influence of 
that glorious world, and feel from day to day its mighty 
attractions. Though not insensible to the affairs of this world, 
they are more alive to that which is unseen and eternal. 
They have learned to relish the employments, as well as the 
enjoyments, of heaven. Often, in the retirement of the soul, 



264 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

and away from the sight of their fellow-men, do they hold 
communion with that pure world. Not with their mortal eyes, 
but with the eye of faith, do they gaze and gaze upon its un- 
speakable glories ; and the ear of faith listens to the songs 
of the redeemed, until their hearts heave with strong emotion, 
and pant after God as the hart panteth after the water 
brooks. As they muse the fire burns, and their souls are 
borne away by a strong impulse towards the celestial city. 
In short, they do sometimes approach so near it, and drink 
so deeply into its glories, that their souls become deeply 
imbued with its spirit. Now, such men live so near to heaven 
that their conversation is there, and the attractions of earth 
are comparatively feeble. They are aptly represented by 
the first supposition which I made, wherein the moon was 
imagined to be removed so far from the earth, and so near 
to the sun, that the attraction of the earth had become almost 
null upon it, and that of the sun almost the only controlling 
force. It is the same with eminently holy men, who have 
long been disciplined in the school of Christ. They have in 
a great measure got the victory over the world, and heaven 
seems to them not a distant place, but near at hand. They 
seem to stand so near its confines, that when the clouds of 
doubt and unbelief clear away, as they often do, and the Sun 
of Righteousness pours down his bright beams, they can look 
across the dark valley between the two worlds, and see the 
sweet flowers of the world beyond, its noble rivers and plains, 
its magnificent mountains, and its sunny vales ; and this world 
shrinks into insignificance in the comparison ; and, like Paul, 
they cannot but feel a desire to depart and be with Christ. 
And around their Saviour they see the bright throng which 
he has redeemed by his blood, and made them kings and 
priests unto God. And how can they but long to go and 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 265 

join that happy circle ! — a circle which sin can never pollute, 
nor death ever break. O, what a happy state is it, thus to 
live under the full influence of the heavenly world, thus to 
feel its strong attractions, thus to have its spirit breathed 
into our souls, and thus, as it were, to begin its songs and its 
joys while yet on earth ! 

I derive my third illustration from the manner in which the 
earth and moon perform their journey together around the 
sun, and around each other. This is not generally under- 
stood. We know that the moon accompanies the earth around 
the sun, and we see it every month complete its revolution 
around the earth. We are hence apt to infer that its actual 
path must be an exceedingly irregular curve. But it is not so. 
Excepting some very slight disturbances of its motion, which 
need not here be taken into the account, its actual path in the 
heavens differs very slightly from that which the earth makes 
in its annual revolution 4 that is, it differs very little from a 
circle. Indeed, were the moon's path to be drawn thirty feet 
in diameter, it would require a practised eye to distinguish the 
curve from a true circle. (Fig. 4 shows the paths of the 
earth and moon for one month ; the black line representing 
the earth's orbit, and the red one the moon's path.) 

Thus it appears that the moon, as well as the earth, obeys 
the influence of the sun in its annual revolution ; and yet it 
does actually move round the earth, and perform important 
service for its inhabitants every month. And it is to these 
two facts in connection that I wish to call your particular at- 
tention. 

It is a well-known fact, that the most eminently holy Chris- 
tians frequently exhibit a very strong and tender affection for 
their families, if they have any, or for their friends and neigh- 
bors, and manifest a deep interest in secular pursuits, and in 
23 



266 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

the welfare of the community and country in which they live. 
And it has often been inquired how such deep interest in 
worldly things was consistent with supreme love and devotion 
to God. Indeed, this inquiry has often distressed the Chris- 
tian himself, and he has feared that his strong attachment to 
friends and neighbors, and his lively interest in worthy objects 
of a worldly kind, were unfavorable indications in respect to 
his character for piety. But in the moon's motion behold a 
solution of ' these doubts and difficulties ! While she most 
faithfully performs her duty to the earth, (if I may be allowed 
such a personification,) she is not for a moment unmindful of 
her relation to the great centre of the solar system. Looking 
to her fidelity to the earth, we should suppose her unmindful 
of any other influence ; whereas, in fact, she is every mo- 
ment obedient to a higher attraction. And so long as she 
obeys that higher influence, there can be no interference be- 
tween the two movements. Just so with the Christian. So 
long as the will of God forms the great controlling central 
power by which all his affections and conduct are regulated, 
— so long as every minor influence which the world exerts 
upon him is kept completely within the control of that higher 
influence which emanates from the eternal world, — he need not 
fear any interference between his affection to his family, his 
friends, and his country, and his affection for God. It is just 
as consistent for him to yield to the impulse of nature, which 
prompts him to love and serve his friends and his country, 
while at the same time he loves and serves God supremely, 
as it is for the moon to obey the influence of the earth, and 
constantly to revolve around it ; while at the same time she 
moves in a still wider circle around the sun, and is perfectly 
controlled by that great centre. Nay, to yield up the heart 
to divine influence, — to give God a supreme place in the af- 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 267 

fections, — brings into the heart a livelier affection for man- 
kind than nature gives. For nature would limit that affection 
by friends and by country : but supreme love to God rebukes 
such selfishness, and bids us love our neighbor as ourselves ; 
and then informs us that all mankind are our neighbors. 

We learn, then, that the Christian need not fear that his at- 
tachment to friends and to other worldly objects is improper, 
or injurious, so long as it does not interfere with his love and 
duty to God. If he surfers them to draw off his affections 
from God, or from heaven, as his final home, so that he is 
turned aside from the path of duty, then indeed they become 
a dangerous, and may become a fatal influence. If the inter- 
est which he takes in his friends or favorite worldly pursuits 
diminishes his interest in the things which are unseen and 
eternal, — if their society draws him away from communion 
with God and heavenly things, — then, indeed, have they be- 
come the controlling power of his heart and his life; and if the 
charm be not broken, he will be driven from God beyond re- 
covery. But no man need fear, when he finds his attachment 
to his friends, or country, or secular pursuits, increase, pro- 
vided he finds a correspondent increase of interest in God and 
eternal things. 

To introduce my fourth illustration, let us suppose the moon 
placed directly between the earth and the sun, while between 
the moon (A) and the sun is a fourth body, (R, Fig. 3,) which 
repels instead of attracting the moon. The consequence 
would be, that the latter would be drawn nearer to the earth, 
and therefore be more attracted by that body ; hence it would 
be driven farther from the sun, and be less attracted by it, 
until that fourth repellent body be taken away. 

It is true, that among the heavenly bodies we know of none 
that repels the others. They all mutually attract. But we 
know that on earth repulsion is one of the great regulating 



268 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

powers of nature, as in electricity and magnetism. It cannot 
be objectionable, therefore, to suppose, for the sake of illus- 
trating religious truth, a repelling body situated between the 
moon and the sun.*' 

Between the Christian and heaven there is also an object 
from which nature shrinks back with dread and aversion. At 
one time his imagination pictures it as a dark valley, where 
no ray of light enters, where no friendly voice is heard by 
the lonely passenger, but where hideous and menacing forms 
ambush his path. At another time his fancy paints it as a 
deep and dismal defile, where he must go alone, and where a 
hideous monster stands in panoply complete, to dispute his 
passage, and to awaken in the disembodied spirit indescriba- 
ble terrors. In short, it is what men universally call death, 
and from which nature, almost without exception, recoils in 
dismay. But from earth to heaven there is no passage save 
through that region of terror. Many a Christian would glad- 
ly leave the earth and go to possess his inheritance in the 
skies, did he not dread a boisterous passage through that un- 
trodden valley. Nature approaches the brink of the preci- 
pice, and strains her eye to penetrate the gloom ; but she can 
discern only the swift and dark waters of Jordan rolling by, 
and the unrelenting countenance of the King of Terrors, with 
his menacing dart, while ever and anon the dying agonies of 
one and another victim assail her ear. She shudders at the 

prospect. 

" The pains, the groans, the dying strife, 
Fright our approaching souls away ; 
Still shrink we back again to life, 
Fond of our prison and our clay." 

* I might have taken stronger ground. Says Professor Loomis, "The 
phenomena exhibited by Halley's comet at its return to the sun in 1835, re- 
quire us to admit the existence of repulsive as well as attractive forces." — 
Recent Progress of Astronomy, 3d edition, p. 147- 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 269 

Some, indeed, through fear of death, are all their lifetime 
subject to bondage. Their weak and disordered nerves, their 
morbid and excitable fancies, start at the rustling of a leaf. 
No wonder, then, if their souls are overcome when they think 
of taking a last look upon this fair world, of grasping the 
hand of friendship for the last time, and of taking the fearful 
plunge, which throws them at once into the hands of that un- 
* sparing conqueror, whose heart never yet relented. No won- 
der that they cling to the world with a desperate grasp, and 
almost cease to feel the attractions of heaven. But let faith 
now put into nature's hand her magic wand, and it will be the 
traveller's passport through the dark valley, and the smitten 
waters of Jordan shall divide, and a ray from heaven come in 
to trace out his pathway. Let the Christian endeavor, while 
faith is in lively exercise, to render death familiar by frequent 
meditation, and he will find, that — 

" Death and his image, rising in the brain, 
Bear faint resemblance — never are alike ; 
Fear shakes the pencil, fancy loves excess, 
Dark ignorance is lavish of her shades, 
And these the formidable picture draw." 

He will find that the physical pains of death he has over- 
rated, and that often, instead of an unknown dreaded agony, 
it is the swe^t and quiet termination of all mortal suffering. 
If he must close his eyes on all the loved objects of time and 
sense, it is only to open them upon the infinite glories of 
heaven. If beloved earthly friends can accompany him no 
farther than the brink of the dark passage, yet friends still 
more beloved — his God, his Saviour, his Sanctifier — stand 
on the other side with arms outstretched to receive him. Ah, 
yes, it is the same Saviour who has himself, in the nature and 
with the feelings of a man, passed alone through that gulf, 
23* 



270 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

and across that turbid stream, and to his fearful followers he 
cries, O Israel, fear not ; for I have redeemed thee ; I have 
called thee by my name. When thou passelh through the wa- 
ters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall 
not overflow thee : when thou walkest through the fire, thou 
shall not be burnt. Death shall be swallowed up in victory. 
Jesus Christ hath, indeed, abolished death, and brought life 
and immortality to light. He has taken away the sting of 
death, that is, unpardoned sin. The monster's spectre indeed 
still haunts the dark valley through which the believer must 
pass, and brandishes his broken and harmless dart. But faith 
can sing the conqueror's song, even within the grasp of this 
once terrific, but now powerless and vanquished foe. 

It is by meditations like these that the repulsive power of 
death is gradually overcome, and the timid believer begins 
again to feel the strong attractions of the heavenly world. 
Nature, indeed, will never feel a complacency in death, con- 
sidered by itself ; but its terrors diminish as they are more 
closely examined, while the glories that lie beyond loom up 
higher and brighter, so that, to use the language of an eminent 
saint, " the river of death appears as an insignificant rill, 
that can be crossed at a single step, whenever God gives per- 
mission." As it muses, the soul waxes strong in the Lord 
and tne power of his might, and with holy confidence ex- 
claims, — 

One hour, and the dark storm goes by ; 
One step, and on the heavenly shore, 

I stand beneath a cloudless sky, 
And drink in joy forevermore. 

My fifth and last illustration supposes the moon placed, as 
before, between the earth and the sun. But -in addition to 
this, it supposes a number of other bodies in contact with the 
earth, (as Fig. 6,) which exercise a very powerful attraction 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 271 

upon the moon, and of course draw it more or less away from 
the sun, giving to the earth more, and to the sun less, influence 
over its motions. 

Imagine now that these bodies, thus surrounding the earth, 
should quit it one after another, and pass over to the sun, (as 
shown on Fig. 7,) attaching themselves in like manner to his 
surface. It is easy to see how such a transference would di- 
minish the moon's attraction towards the earth, and increase 
its attraction towards the sun ; so that it 'might easily be made 
to break loose entirely from the former, and pass towards, if 
not directly into, the latter. 

The objects that attract the Christian to this world are often 
numerous and powerfully attractive. We have seen that he 
may cherish a strong attachment to worldly and worthy ob- 
jects, if the love of God so reign in his heart as to bring every 
thing else into subordination. We have seen that love to God 
sanctifies and ennobles every inferior affection. And the fact 
is, that no class of men exhibit a stronger affection for every 
worthy object than devoted Christians. 

They ardently love their friends. And in this they do 
but follow their great Exemplar. Even the young man, who 
turned away sorrowful from the exhortations of Jesus, was 
still loved by him for his interesting traits of character, and 
by the tomb of Lazarus the Saviour wept ; so that the Jews 
exclaimed, Behold how he loved him. He did not love any 
thing in his friends that was sinful : neither does the Christian. 
But for all those amiable qualities which make them good 
members of society he does love them ; and still stronger is 
that affection, if he witnesses in them the graces of true re- 
ligion. For he regards such friendships as germs which will 
expand and ripen in heaven. 

The Christian also loves the intercourse of his fellow-men. 



272 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

His religion has not made him a misanthrope, nor eradicated 
that love of society which nature has implanted in every bo- 
som. He only strives to correct what is wrong, and elevate 
what is low, in social intercourse ; and no man takes a deeper 
interest than he in whatever promotes the general welfare of 
the community. 

The Christian also loves his country. To promote her 
welfare, to defend her institutions, to preserve her liberties, 
and to eradicate whatever is unjust, cruel, and debasing, he is 
ready to make any sacrifices consistent with his duty to God. 

He loves science and literature. To cultivate them him- 
self he knows to be the only sure way of giving him enlarged 
views of truth and duty, and he knows, too, that many of the 
principles of science will survive the ruin of this world, and 
become a part of the science of heaven. And to promote 
knowledge in others he knows to be one of the most impor- 
tant means of the promotion of religion, and of saving piety 
from degenerating into frigid scepticism or wild fanaticism. 

The Christian loves nature. He loves it most because it is 
the great temple of Jehovah, whose lofty columns and arches 
show divine wisdom and love in their construction. Wher- 
ever he wanders through its vast galleries and labyrinths, he 
hears God's voice and sees his hand at work. Indeed, all na- 
ture is but one vast sounding gallery, echoing and reechoing 
with Jehovah's name and Jehovah's praise. He loves nature, 
too, because he was cradled in her arms and nursed on her 
bosom, and her sweet voice ever touches a sympathetic chord 
in his soul, and brings out the sweetest melody to which earth 
ever listens. Every thing which man's harpy fingers have 
touched bears the defilement of sin ; but nature is untar- 
nished, and her virgin robe reminds us of that which she 
wore in the bowers of Eden. And therefore does the Chris- 
tian love nature. 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 273 

Such are the objects that draw the Christian's soul to this 
world with strong attraction, and tend, therefore, to weaken, 
or to make less sensible, the attractions of heaven. But as 
time advances, and changes come over him, and adversity 
shrouds his prospects in clouds and storms, and death's ruth- 
less hand tears one and another fond object away, these earth- 
ly ties grow weaker, and one after another are sundered ; 
leaving the soul to be more easily drawn upward towards the 
world of cloudless skies, of permanent repose — the great at- 
tracting centre of the universe. 

It is more especially, then, to the case of the advanced 
Christian — advanced in years and in piety — that my illus- 
tration under my last head applies. He may have commenced 
his religious course early, and have become convinced even 
then of the vanity of the world. But after all, the world then 
appeared to him in a far more fascinating aspect than it now 
does, after a few decades of years have taught him many im- 
pressive lessons of its emptiness. It then lay before him an 
untrodden field, glowing with the charms of novelty, and as 
seen through the prism of youthful fancy, decked with a thou- 
sand rainbow hues. As he pressed eagerly on, and plucked 
from time to time the golden fruit that hung temptingly over 
his path, he did not know how much of it would prove like 
the apples of Sodom. 

" This more delusive, not the touch, but taste, 
Deceived : he, fondly thinking to allay 
His thirst with gust, instead of fruit, 
Chewed bitter ashes ; which the offended taste, 
With sputtering noise, rejected." 

So long as the delusion lasted, the young Christian felt him- 
self strongly drawn towards the earth. But in advanced life 
he has been so Often deceived by its fair fruit, and drank so 



274 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

often of its bitter waters, that he no longer anticipates a ful- 
filment of its fair promises ; and though he has enjoyed 
enough to make him very thankful, he has enjoyed too little 
to make him desire to tread the same path over again. He 
has learned that this world was never intended to afford a 
pleasant and permanent home, but only comfortable accom- 
modations for a journey. He has ceased, therefore, to feel 
the strong attraction to earth, which health, and hope, and 
novelty, and youth, threw around him in early life. Faith, 
and hope, and desire, now reach forward towards that world 

Whose fruits and streams 
Are life and joy ; where day eternal shines ; 
Where love, ineffable, immortal, reigns. 

One of the objects of lawful pursuit by the Christian is the 
acquisition of wealth, with the intention of using it for worthy 
objects. And this is an object that often presents a fascinating 
aspect to the youthful mind, and becomes one of the strong 
cords that bind him to the world, if he is successful in the 
pursuit. When he first begins to recline upon the downy 
couch of affluence, and fawning friends multiply, and the 
fashionable world condescends to smile upon him, how distant 
and uninviting appears his home in heaven, and how terrible 
the passage thither ! He can enter fully into the meaning of 
the Son of Sirach, when he says, O death, how hitter is the 
remembrance of thee to a man that is at ease in his posses- 
sions ; unto the man that hath prosperity in all things, and 
hath nothing to vex him. But it will not be long before this 
man will find, that as he sinks deeper and deeper into his bed 
of down, it is underlaid by a bed of thorns. He will find 
that the apostle spoke true words when he said, They that will 
be rich fall into temptation and a snare^ and into many 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 275 

foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction 
and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil ; 
which while some coveted after, they have erred from the 
faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorroivs. 
If God means to save this man, the effect of his experience 
will be to teach him the truth of these things in season to 
rescue him from utter ruin, and he will learn henceforth not 
to trust in uncertain riches. The strong hold which they 
have had upon his heart is broken, and he pants after the 
riches of paradise. It may be, too, that his riches take to 
themselves wings and fly away, and want succeeds to abun- 
dance. Then, when the friends of his sunny days forsake 
him, and the world leaves him alone to bear the iron rule of 
poverty, O, how sweet it is to look forward to his treasure in 
heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt, and where thieves 
do not break through and steal ! 

Here let me add, that want and destitution, whether they 
have succeeded to competence and wealth, or have been the 
Christian's companions through life, are among the most 
powerful means which God uses to make heaven sweet and 
attractive. And it is in advanced life, especially, that pover- 
ty's cold skeleton hand seems most heavy and rigid. The 
Christian may have toiled on through many a wearisome year, 
unable to secure even a competence ; and now that age and 
infirmity palsy his efforts, still must he labor on and struggle 
harder in the unequal conflict. With what a strong impulse 
will his heart reach out after an inheritance incorrupti- 
ble, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved for him 
in heaven ! How often has the widowed mother, toiling at 
the midnight hour over her unfinished task, and unable to 
provide for her numerous offspring, felt the talismanic power 
of that reserved legacy in the skies ! How often has the 



278 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

father's heart, fainting under his vain labors to satisfy his 
children's hunger, wept tears of gratitude to that Saviour who 
has purchased for him so precious a boon ! 

Another worldly good, which may have been with the 
Christian an object of strong desire and effort, is a reputation 
for learning and wisdom. And he may have been in a meas- 
ure successful. But God usually so orders events, that his 
honors shall sit uneasily upon him, and prove a crown of 
thorns rather than of flowers. When he commenced his 
career of learning, those who had already climbed up the 
steep and difficult way cheered him with encouraging words, 
and held up the dazzling crowns which they had won, spar- 
kling with jewels, to stimulate his zeal. But no sooner had 
he reached the eminence on which they stood, than he found 
them equally ready to pluck off his laurels, and to crowd him 
back again into a humbler sphere. So long as he was be- 
neath them, they were overflowing with benevolence and 
patronage. Bat to have the ignorant boy, whom they had 
helped out of the mire of poverty and ignorance, becomo 
their peer, — nay, rise above them, and seize a richer crown 
than theirs, — was more than human pride could brook. So 
that the Christian scholar found that reputation had only 
brought him into a battle field with powerful and implacable 
enemies. In his path, too, he often found coiled up the viper 
envy, charged with venom ; and the scorpion hatred often 
crept under his pillow, to sting him in an unconscious hour. 
In his own heart, also, he found the pride of science choking 
the growth of the Christian graces, and poisoning the springs 
of religious joy. In short, a few years of such experience 
taught him that to be elevated in society is to be a mark for 
the arrows of ignorance and sin ; and often, too, the intelli- 
gent and the virtuous will interpose no shield of defence, so 
that you are left alone, with little power to do good. 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 277 

" Truths would you teach to save a sinking land, 
All fear, none aid you, and few understand. 
Painful preeminence ! yourself to view 
Above life's follies, and its comforts, too." 

Progress in knowledge will also give a man many a forcible 
lesson of the narrowness and imperfection of human science, 
so that the wisest are compelled to see through a glass darkly. 
Not only must they look through a glass which refracts the 
rays and colors and distorts objects, but they must see them 
darkly or obscurely. 

These various disheartening circumstances, with which the 
Christian scholar almost always meets, more or less, as he 
advances in life, do not, indeed, wean him from the love of 
science ; for he finds in its pursuit enjoyment as pure and 
ennobling as any thing earthly can give. But they do tend 
to rob learning and distinction among men of much of the 
charm with which they are invested in the eyes of the inex- 
perienced. They do weaken science and reputation in their 
power to chain the Christian's affections to this world ; and 
they lead him to look with strong desire and lively hope to 
that sweet world of light and love where the grossness of 
sense will be gone, where no unholy passions will mar and 
pervert the truth, and where its rays will come pure, with no 
intervening prism to distort them from their original source. 

Vigorous health is one of the strongest bands by which we 
are fastened to this world ; for it is that which gives its full 
relish to every other blessing, and without which they would 
all become tasteless or disgusting. The man who enjoys this 
health has only an indistinct apprehension of his liability to 
death, although he may be an eminently holy man. But 
advancing age brings its infirmities and pains to almost every 
one ; and to many it brings occasional assaults of sickness or 
24 



278 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

constant feeble health. In* the failing appetite, the faltering 
step, the trembling hand, the aching head, the feverish pulse, 
and the irritable nerve, they have constant premonitions of 
the approach of dissolution. They perceive within them a 
constant struggle between life and death — the latter becom- 
ing stronger and stronger, and the former weaker and weak- 
er ; and, like Job, they often feel as if they were a burden 
to themselves. Life loses its charms because it cannot be 
enjoyed ; and the sombre hue of melancholy is cast over all 
its scenes. But they know that there is a world where the 
inhabitants shall not say, I am sick; and they trust it will 
be their inheritance. O, with what earnest desire do their 
thoughts stretch forward, and anticipate the time when they 
shall enter the building of God — the house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens ! Once, in the buoyancy of 
health and youth, this world put on enchanting smiles. But 
now the dream has passed by, and heaven only is clothed 
with beauty. 

But even though the constitution may long hold out, and 
health continue, yet advancing years bring with them infirmity 
and decay, which point in no doubtful manner to the close of 
life. The flattened eye, requiring the optician's aid ; the ear 
failing in its sensibility to sound ; the palate losing its keen 
relish of savory viands, and the olfactories of sweet odors ; 
the blood coursing sluggishly along the veins ; the brain tor- 
pid and heavy in its movements ; and the shrunk muscle, 
easily tired, and moving heavily the failing limb, — all, all 
tell the traveller that he has almost reached the end of his 
journey. 

"Eheu, fugaces, Posthume, Posthume, 
Labuntur anni ; nee pi etas moram 
Hugis et instanti senectae 
Afferret indomitseque morti." 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 279 

Nor do the bodily powers alone give way. The mind, too, 
dependent on bodily organization by unalterable laws for its 
free exercise, sympathizes in the decline of the physical 
powers. The proud heights which she once scaled can no 
longer be reached ; the heavy blows which she once dealt out 
can no longer be given. She may, indeed, say, like Sam- 
son, I will go out, as at other times, and shake myself ; but 
she will find that the lock of her strength has been shorn. 

" Sic fatus senior, telumque imbelle sine ictu, 
Conjecit." 

First of all the memory feels the change, and reels, and 
staggers, and sinks under her charge. Next the judgment 
begins to waver ; and, last of all, the imagination comes flut- 
tering to the earth. O, who could bear thus to see his 
immortal mind falling into ruins, w r ere he not able to look 
forward to her resurrection in a spiritual body — a body as 
incorruptible and immortal as the soul itself ? But in view 
of that renovation, with what cheerfulness can the Christian 
see this earthly house of his tabernacle dissolve, and the 
powers of his mind give way, because it shows him how soon 
they will be delivered from their prison house of flesh and 
sense, and henceforth expatiate and exult in the unshackled 
freedom of heaven ! 

But there is a weight more heavy than flesh and blood 
which drags down to the earth the Christian's soul. It is the 
burden of a sinful heart ; and the longer he lives, the more 
oppressive does it become, and the more deep his convictions 
that he shall never throw it off till his spirit escapes from its 
material tenement. But the oath and promise of God assure 
him that he shall drop this body of death when he passes 
over Jordan into the heavenly Canaan. That deliverance is 



280 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

the strongest desire of his heart. Even though he may fear 
to die, he pants for that emancipation ; and the more, as 
longer experience makes sin more hateful, and his own sin- 
fulness more manifest and burdensome. It helps reconcile 
him to death. It is one of the strongest attractions of heaven 
that no sin will be there. 

In like manner does the wickedness and wretchedness of 
this alienated world weigh more and more heavily upon the 
Christian's spirit, and make heaven's holiness and happiness 
seem doubly sweet. He sympathizes with the feelings of 
Cowper : — 

" My ear 
Is pained, my heart is sick, with every day's report 
Of wrong and outrage with which earth is filled. 
There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart ; 
It doth not feel for man." 

Gladly indeed would the Christian labor as long as God 
wills to bring man back to holiness and happiness ; but how 
slight an impression do his efforts make, and the efforts of the 
whole Christian church, upon the mass of human wickedness ! 
And how can he but feel a strong desire to reach that happy 
shore, and that glorious community, which sin has never 
polluted ! 

After all, the strongest ties that bind us to this world are 
friendship and natural affection. How many tender and fond 
associations cluster around the names of father and mother, 
wife and children, brother and sister, friend and companion ! 
Point me to the man who has had all these tender relations 
sundered, and who stands on earth as an isolated being, and 
I will point you to one who has lost all sympathy with human 
kind, and would gladly depart from a desolate world. Now, 
mark the wisdom and benevolence of God in respect to this 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 281 

subject. In the first place, new attachments are rarely formed 
by us, of much strength, in advanced life, because the laws 
of our nature forbid it. In the second place, God removes 
the Christian's friends, one after another, as he can bear it ; 
so that, if he be spared to advanced life, he finds himself 
almost alone on earth, with but few ties to be sundered when 
his turn comes to depart. How full of benevolence is such 
a dispensation ! Could we form strong attachments in riper 
years, we might, even at the last, find ourselves so fastened 
to the world that the final separation would be full of anguish. 
But now he cuts one earthly tie after another ; so that, when 
the time of our own separation comes, this world has almost 
lost its power over us, and the few remaining cords that bind 
us to it are easily sundered. On the other hand, all our 
departed friends have gone to that same world whither we 
must go ; and there they form a centre of attraction of strong 
power. We know that those of them who have entered the 
celestial city will issue from its portals, and, clothed in im- 
mortal beauty, and with the warm and holy affection of glori- 
fied spirits, will welcome us to our everlasting home. O, 
what mercy is here ! Come, thou disconsolate mourner, 
whose heart has been made so often to bleed by the departure 
of beloved friends, see how God is preparing to make your 
own departure easy, by sundering beforehand the ties that 
bind you to the world, and gathering your friends together 
in the great centre of holiness and happiness, to draw you 
thither with irresistible force. With such a power to draw 
you away, and with so feeble a force to retain you, how slight 
will be the final pang ! how triumphant your passage through 
the dominions of death ! 

But the details that have now been given will justify a more 
general inference. We may regard the astronomical illus- 
24* 



282 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 

tration which I last gave (Fig. 6 and 7) as describing a gen- 
eral principle of the divine administration, viz., that a leading 
object of God's treatment of men is to weaken their attach- 
ment to this world, and to concentrate in heaven an attractive 
influence of overwhelming power. And, really, when we 
consider how much he does to weaken our hold upon the 
world, and to draw us towards heaven, instead of wondering 
that a few Christians are willing to die, we ought to wonder 
that any of them are willing to live. This was, indeed, the 
state of feeling with ancient saints. Their grand difficulty 
seemed to be how to be reconciled to life, not to death. This 
was the feeling of Job when he said, All the days of my ap- 
pointed time will I wait till my change come — as if he had 
been anxiously looking for that time. This was the feeling 
of Jacob when he exclaimed, / have waited for thy salvation, 

Lord, And such eminently was the feeling of Paul when 
he said, I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, which 
is better beyond expression. O, what a mighty impulse 
towards heaven reigned in the apostle's soul ! He longed to 
leap out from his bondage to matter, and become a disin- 
thralled spirit before the throne. Whenever he alludes to the 
subject, his soul is all on fire, and he exclaims, I am now 
ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. 

1 have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
give me at that day. He had reached that lofty point of 
Christian experience when only a single tie bound him to the 
world, and that was a sense of duty to his brethren ; and this 
he might not sunder till God should give permission. But 
all the other objects of his hope and desire had been trans- 
ferred to heaven, and there formed a mighty centre of attrac- 
tion. (See the representation in Fig. 7.) 



ASTRONOMICALLY ILLUSTRATED. 283 

And do our hearts, my brethren, vibrate in sympathy with 
that of the apostle, or is the thought of departure chilling and 
agonizing ? It is not strange that he who is young in years 
and in Christian experience, to whose unpractised eye the 
world spreads out so many fascinating scenes, should find his 
heart shrinking at the thought of death ; nor that he who is 
in the midst of business and usefulness, basking in the sun- 
shine of public favor, and linked to the world at a thousand 
points, should find the wrench terrible that separates him at 
once from so many cherished objects. But if we are ad- 
vanced in Christian experience and in years ; if a large part 
of the objects that once interested us have either ceased to 
fascinate or have been transferred to the eternal world ; if 
increasing infirmities admonish us how soon the soul's mate- 
rial tenement must be taken down, surely we ought no longer 
to view death as an enemy, but as a friend come to deliver 
us from sin and sorrow, to unbar our prison doors, knock off 
our fetters, and to let the soul go out to breathe henceforth 
the vital air of heaven. No Christian, whatever his age or 
condition, ought to be wholly destitute of these feelings. But 
they especially become him who has long been in the school 
of Christ. He is in the condition represented by my last 
illustration ; and his soul ought to swell with strong emotion 
whenever he turns his eyes towards the heavenly world. 
There are collected many of his earthly friends, and all his 
heavenly friends, beckoning to him to come to their sinless 
and unchanging home. O, what a group of beloved objects 
are congregated there, and how ought we to look upon the 
day of death as the time of coronation and victory ! 

"When life in opening buds is sweet, 
And golden hopes the spirit greet, 
And youth prepares his joys to meet, 

Alas, how hard it is to die ! 



284 THE ATTRACTIONS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH. 

" When scarce is seized some borrowed prize, 
And duties press, and tender ties 
Forbid the soul from earth to rise, 

How awful then it is to die ! 

" When, one by one, those ties are torn, 
And friend from friend is snatched forlorn, 
And man is left alone to mourn, 

Ah, then, how easy 'tis to die ! 

" When trembling limbs refuse their weight, 
And films, slow gathering, dim the sight, 
And clouds obscure the mental light, 

'Tis nature's precious boon to die. 

" When faith is strong, and conscience clear, 
And words of peace the spirit cheer, 
And visioned glories half appear, 

'Tis joy, 'tis triumph, then to die." 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF 
CHARACTER. 



Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. — John i. 47. 

Deceit and duplicity, cunning, craft, and artifice, are the 
characteristics which we attach to guile. The man under its 
influence does not exhibit his real character, but assumes a 
false one, to accomplish some sinister end. 

An Israelite indeed — such as Nathanael was, who is al- 
luded to in the text — is a man of great simplicity and purity 
of character ; one who fears God, and endeavors to conform 
his life in all respects to the precepts of the gospel. That 
trait, which is here described as a freedom from guile, I 
would denominate transparency of Christian character. Its 
opposite we might call opacity of character. And these 
terms may represent the extremes of good and bad in char- 
acter. 

Those conversant with the science of mineralogy will per- 
ceive that I have borrowed these terms from thence. I have 
conceived the idea of attempting to illustrate the subject of 
character by the facts of that science ; not, indeed, because 
there is any connection between mineralogy and Christian 
character, excepting that what is true literally of certain min- 
erals is true figuratively of certain characters. Hence the 

(285) 



286 MLNERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

minerals, which are objects of sense, may be employed to fix 
important moral principles in the memory. I know that this 
mode of exhibiting religious truth has no little quaintness 
about it. But if it convey no error, and makes the truth more 
impressive, perhaps I may be pardoned for employing it; 
since the highest use to which we can put science is to make 
it subservient to religion. Nor, if we avoid the extremes of 
the earlier writers, in their attempts to spiritualize natural 
objects, can quaintness, which is in fact often only a high 
degree of originality, be considered a great fault. 

Between perfect transparency and perfect opacity of min- 
erals, as well as of character, there is an endless variety of 
intermediate conditions. There are, however, certain well- 
marked stages in this gradation in minerals, which well sym- 
bolize certain corresponding grades of character. I propose 
to describe several of these by terms derived from mineral- 
ogy ; but I shall confine myself, at this time, to what are 
called the optical characters of minerals, that is, their rela- 
tions to light. 

1. I shall first describe the wholly transparent character. 

The most perfect example of a transparent mineral is, one 
through which the outlines of objects may be seen, and not be 
colored, nor their position changed. We have fine examples 
in quartz and selenite. 

I wish I could say that the entirely transparent character 
were as common as such crystals. But it appears, now and 
then, pure enough at least to be entitled to the commendation 
contained in the proverb — " An honest man's the noblest 
work of God." He is emphatically the work of God ; not 
simply as to the creation of his physical nature, but more 
especially as to the new creation of the soul. The highest 
specimens of moral purity which we meet among men, whom 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 287 

divine grace has not transformed, will not come up to the 
standard of Nathanael, in whom was no guile. Many unre- 
newed men there are whose characters are of a noble 
stamp, but the simplicity and godly sincerity of elevated piety 
are wanting. 

As to the truly transparent Christian character, the world 
stand in no doubt, though guile and malevolence, thereby 
severely reproved, sometimes try to make out consummate 
hypocrisy, where, to unjaundiced eyes, all is clear. They 
know what such a man's principles are, for he avows them ; 
and they know he will not flinch from maintaining them, even 
though all others desert him : 

"Among the faithless, faithful only he." 

The public are not afraid to trust such a man with their 
most important interests. They have no fears of chicanery 
and trickery, because his integrity has been so often proved. 

All this does not imply that the man of perfect transpar- 
ency of character should disclose all his plans and purposes 
to the world. A pure homogeneous crystal does not show 
every thing that it contains. Let the chemist subject it to the 
power of reagents, and he will show that it is composed of 
several elements, whose harmonious and perfect combination, 
to the exclusion of foreign impurities, give it a beautiful trans- 
parency. So there may be plans and purposes in the mind 
of the Christian which he does not disclose to the world, 
because often that would be sure to defeat them. Indeed, 
every man who means to be useful must have the power of 
keeping out of sight his yet unattempted plans of usefulness ; 
for if known beforehand, there is malignity enough in a 
wicked world to thwart them, and their disclosure would do 
nobody any good. But no man, who means to keep a con- 



288 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

science void of offence, should ever form any plans or pur- 
poses which he is not willing to have laid open to the universe 
at any moment ; and the only reason why he does not expose 
them should be, that he may thereby accomplish more for the 
good of the world. Concealed for such a reason, and they 
do not disturb the clearness and beauty of his character ; but 
kept out of sight for any other reason, and they mar his 
transparency. 

I remark, also, that objects seen through the most perfectly 
transparent crystal do not appear as distinct as when viewed 
through a vacuum, or the air. This well illustrates the im- 
perfection of the best of human characters. Divine grace 
does not choose to make them absolutely perfect in this world. 
Perhaps it is no more possible that a descendant of Adam 
should exhibit perfection, than that a crystal, formed out of 
mineral matter, should transmit light without intercepting 
some of its rays. It remains for a higher state of existence 
to bring out the Christian character in its full glory. In that 
city whose foundations are formed of the choicest gems, a 
correspondent beauty and perfection will be developed in the 
Christian's soul. 

Thus far I have spoken of transparent crystals, that trans- 
mit only white light ; and these I have made the emblem of 
the most perfect character. But the light is sometimes col- 
ored ; it may be deeply so ; and though the essential transpar- 
ency remains, objects seen through the crystal will be also 
colored. Examples may be seen in amethyst, rose mica, and 
red rock salt. 

This fact symbolizes another variety of character, less per- 
fect than the first, yet more frequent. It is not very uncom- 
mon to meet with a man whose character in the main belongs 
to the transparent class, yet he suffers himself to be swayed 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 289 

by strong prejudices, and these color every object at which 
he looks. He is sincere in desiring to view every object in 
its true light, and is not aware that his eye always looks upon 
colored objects. But an eagle-eyed world perceive it, and 
though they do not perhaps doubt his honesty, they lose their 
confidence in his judgment. 

Another Christian, of the same general honesty and trans- 
parency of character, fixes his eyes so exclusively upon some 
particular doctrines or duties, that they give a coloring to all 
his views. He over-estimates their importance, and they injure 
the symmetry of his religious character, producing as much 
deviation from perfect transparency as color does in the crystal. 

The same effect is sometimes produced upon character by 
long-continued poor health. Some diseases do actually give 
an unnatural color to objects seen through the eye. And 
there are jaundiced minds, as well as jaundiced eyes. Nor 
can the man avoid viewing the world with a morbid and 
melancholy hue thrown over it, when the nervous system is 
deranged, any more than a yellow tinge can be removed from 
external objects, when the eye is suffused with bile. He 
whose health is firm, and whose mental eye is clear, smiles at 
the delusions of the invalid, and takes pride in his superior 
philosophy and religion. But let a slight shock be given to 
his nervous system, and the same sombre cloud will over- 
shadow him, and his boasted philosophy and religion will 
succumb to a deranged sensorium. 

2. I shall in the second place describe the hydrophanous 
character. 

Hydrophanous minerals are such as are not transparent 
till they are immersed in water, when they become so ; as the 
hydrophane, a variety of opal. 

So it is with many a Christian. Till the floods of adversity 
25 



290 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

have been poured over him, his character appears marred 
and clouded by selfish and worldly influences. But trials 
clear away the obscurity, and give distinctness and beauty to 
his piety. It is necessary often that the waves should roll 
over him again and again, before his soul becomes thoroughly 
permeated, and his character wholly transparent. But if God 
means to make him an instrument of eminent usefulness on 
earth, or eminent in glory in heaven, he will not lift him out 
of the waters till the work has been thoroughly accomplished. 

3. The third character I would symbolically describe is 
the semi-transparent. 

Through a semi-transparent or sub-transparent mineral 
objects may be seen, but there is no distinctness of outline, 
as in gypsum, selenite, and quartz. 

The semi-transparent character is no uncommon one, even 
among professed Christians. Light enough is transmitted 
from such, and through them, to lead us, in the exercise of 
charity, to place them among the really pious ; yet every 
thing about them is indistinct and cloudy. They have no 
clear and definite ideas of the doctrines of the Christian* sys- 
tem, and there is a correspondent looseness in respect to 
Christian duties. Their religious experience, both at its com- 
mencement and subsequently, has no strongly marked fea- 
tures. There is no clear line of demarcation in their minds 
between worldly morality and Christian ethics. Hence they 
conform very much to worldly maxims and practices ; so 
much so as to raise doubts of their piety in the minds of 
many ; and yet they will cordially unite in every good work, 
and thus often do they clear their characters from suspicion. 
There is so much of flexibility in their principles and charac- 
ter, that you cannot tell where you will find them in times 
when decision and independence are needed. In short, it 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 291 

seems as if such persons were aiming to secure both this 
world and the next, and you fear that they may lose both. 

Semi-transparency may symbolize a character still more 
unlovely and repulsive. The very mineral I have taken to 
illustrate it — gypsum — was used under the name of phen- 
gites, by some of the most hateful of the Roman emperors — 
Nero, for example — for the windows of their palaces. So 
nearly transparent was it, that these tyrants could look out 
and see what the people were doing, while the latter could 
not look in and see what was going on there. And this is 
just what jealous and cruel despots, and others of like dispo- 
sition, desire. Others they wish to scrutinize with eagles' 
eyes, while they themselves keep in the dark, and from thence 
give the assassin's stab. 

4. I pass, fourthly, to describe the translucent character. 

Minerals are translucent when light is transmitted through 
them, but objects are not seen. 

There are two varieties of translucency. In the first, light 
seems to penetrate the entire mass, but not enough to produce 
even semi-transparency. The difficulty seems to have been, 
that the particles, when the mineral was in the process of 
formation, were not thoroughly dissolved, and therefore could 
not be so arranged by the laws of crystallography as to 
allow the light to pass freely through. And yet it seems as 
if the work had been nearly accomplished. Examples may 
be seen in fibrous gypsum and rose quartz. 

This mineral aptly represents the man who seems to stand 
about upon the line between the world and the Christian. 
There is so much that is good, both in his principles and his 
practice, that you are disposed at times to class him with the 
latter. But you cannot see through him, and there is too 
much room left for guile and artifice to hide themselves, and 



292 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

unexpectedly to develop unlovely traits of character, so that 
you stand in doubt of him. You greatly wish that divine 
grace had thoroughly dissolved native selfishness and world li- 
ness, so that they should not so mar and mystify the whole 
character. The man probably considers himself a Christian, 
and possibly he is so, but of a very low grade of piety. 
More likely he has only been convicted, but not converted ; 
and great is the danger, if that be the case, that he never 
will be. 

Another variety of mineral exhibits translucency only on 
its edges. The central mass is dark; but holding the speci- 
men to the light, and light is transmitted dimly through the 
thin edges. Marble and flint, or hornstone, are examples. 

In these specimens, we have a good symbolization of the 
man, who has been brought so much under the influence of 
Christianity, that it has modified his external conduct, pro- 
duced some regard for true piety, led to some outward refor- 
mations, and caused him to adopt some of the forms of reli- 
gion. Yet the darkness of unregeneracy reigns within. The 
central mass of character has never been permeated by the 
subduing and remodelling power of divine grace, and there- 
fore no heavenly light can pass through. Friends, and pos- 
sibly the man himself, mistake the rays that struggle through 
the edges of his character for genuine Christian experience. 
But until the light can reach the soul's centre, if guile still 
reigns there, along with selfishness, pride, and worldliness, 
external translucency can avail nothing in the sight of God. 
Nothing but divine alchemy can rearrange and transmute the 
elements of character, so as to give it the transparency of 
true religion. 

5. My fifth symbolization embraces the doubly refracting 
character. 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 293 

A doubly-refracting crystal is transparent ; but it gives two 
images of objects seen through it. Ordinary refraction pro- 
duces one, and extraordinary refraction another, by splitting 
the ray. A good example is Iceland spar, or calcite. 

Just so some Christian men, apparently without guile, and 
found in the main on the right side, do sometimes so split the 
rays of truth as to give a false image of things. They so 
speculate and philosophize about doctrines, that the formula- 
ries they present have the aspect of heresy, although it is in 
fact nothing but idiosyncrasy. So, in regard to Christian 
duties, there is often some extraordinary refraction which gives 
those duties an aspect different from the common one. The 
moral reformations and Christian enterprises of the present 
age, also, seen through their optics, put on features which no 
other eyes can see. In short, there are peculiarities in their 
mental or moral constitution that make it difficult for others 
to act or think in concert with them. The truth is, the leaven 
of self-esteem and love of distinction is working within them, 
and so bends the ray of truth that a false image is formed, 
which these men honestly believe to be the true one. 

6. The sixth character which I shall' describe is the phos- 
* phorescent. 

Certain minerals, when rubbed against each other, or ex- 
posed to a considerable degree of heat or to the light of the 
sun, and then are removed to a dark place, will emit light for 
some time, and sometimes beautifully, although previously 
opaque. This is called phosphorescence. Examples are 
quartz, fluor spar, and the diamond. 

You have probably anticipated me in the character I would 

symbolize by these examples. For how common is it to 

meet with men who never seem to feel any interest in any 

good cause till they are brought under the influence of others ! 

25* 



294 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

They have an excitable temperament ; and if others go before 
them, and call after them to follow, they begin to throw off 
phosphorescent sparks ; or when warmed by the tongue of 
eloquence or the mesmeric power of sympathy, their souls 
seem to be permeated by a phosphoric glow that promises 
much. But as the light of the phosphorescent mineral fades, 
and soon disappears, when the extrinsic heat is taken away, 
and daylight is let in upon it, so do the ardor and zeal of 
these men depart when foreign stimulants are withdrawn, and 
they are left to their own resources. Their benevolence, 
being the fruit of external excitement, and having nothing to 
feed it within, soon dies away, and leaves the man as unfeel- 
ing, as narrow-minded, and as selfish as ever. 

7. My seventh symbolization describes the dichroic char- 
acter, 

Dichroism consists in a mineral's exhibiting different colors 
on different faces. Thus dichroite, or iolite, is often deep 
blue along its vertical axis ; but on a side perpendicular to 
this axis it is brownish yellow. The phenomenon results 
from the manner in which the particles are arranged for 
reflecting and transmitting light. The whole internal struc- 
ture must be changed before the same color shall be presented 
on all the faces. 

Moral dichroism consists in a man's being Janus-faced — 
that is, double-faced both in his principle and his practice, in 
order to secure popular favor and avoid odium. The chame- 
leon is said to have the power of assuming the color of the 
object on which it fastens ; so this man means to conform his 
creed and his practice to those which are most popular in the 
community where he happens to live or sojourn. In one place, 
he is orthodox; in another, heterodox; — in one, an advo- 
cate for temperance ; in another, loose in this matter, both in 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 295 

theory and practice ; — in one place, proslavery ; in another, 
antislavery. His moral and religious principles are not set- 
tled, or rather he makes them bend to his worldly interest ; 
and you have no way of determining where to find him in any 
circumstances, except to inquire what aspect self-interest will 
require him to put on. Nor will it ever be essentially better 
until divine grace shall have transformed and rearranged the 
elements of his character. 

8. My eighth symbol will illustrate a chatoyant char- 
acter. 

A chatoyant mineral exhibits a beautiful play of prismatic 
colors as it is turned around. It is not a mere surface phe- 
nomenon, but proceeds from the internal arrangement of the 
particles. The diamond affords, perhaps, the most perfect 
example, unless it be the precious opal. 

Mineralogists make some distinction between a play of 
colors and a change of colors in crystals. But the difference 
is unimportant in the point of view in which I am looking at 
the subject ; and I include both those varieties under the term 
chatoyant. Hence I should quote, as a third example, Lab- 
rador feldspar, or labradorite, which, though less brilliant 
than the diamond, has the advantage of presenting a much 
larger surface, glowing with prismatic hues. 

I regard brilliancy of character as the trait most aptly rep- 
resented by the chatoyant property of minerals. I mean 
chiefly brilliancy of intellect. This may be conjoined with 
humble piety, without destroying its transparency ; and the 
character thus formed becomes eminently attractive, and is 
well symbolized by the diamond, the most precious and per- 
fect of all minerals. But brilliancy of parts is quite apt to 
derogate from the purity and simplicity of Christian charac- 
ter, so that its transparency is marred, just as is the case with 



296 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

the opal and the labradorite. We are delighted with their 
splendor, but regret that we cannot see through them. 

9. The irised or pavonine character is symbolized by my 
ninth example. 

Irised minerals often give a splendid exhibition of most of 
the colors of the spectrum ; but it is produced by a mere 
superficial film, while all beneath is opaque, as in a specimen 
of anthracite coal. 

The pavonine character, so called from its resemblance to 
the feathers of the peacock, is so common as hardly to need 
a particular description. It is the man who has a strong pas- 
sion for outside display, but has no corresponding sterling 
qualities within. He may be gaudy as the peacock without ; 
but just penetrate beneath the thin film of external charac- 
ter, and all will be found either hollow or opaque within. 
Frequently the interior will be found a hiding place for arti- 
fice, cunning, and duplicity, and always for vanity and self- 
conceit. Such a character is frequently a rather harmless 
one — not so much from a want of disposition as from a want 
of ability to do much mischief. 

There are some minerals — mica, for instance — that are 
essentially transparent, but show the prismatic colors in their 
interior. This is called iridescence ; but it differs little from 
the irised character, which is limited to the surface. For the 
interior iridescence proceeds from a metallic film introduced 
into some crack or fissure, producing a brilliant tarnish there 
of the same nature as that upon the irised surface. Exam- 
ple, iridescent mica or quartz. 

The iridescent mineral has its counterpart among men ; 
for we meet with not a few excellent Christian men who show 
an inordinate fondness for external display. Costly and ele- 
gant dwellings and furniture, elegant horses and carriages, 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 297 

and rich, if not gaudy, clothing, they do not regard as incon- 
sistent with their obligations to conform to the precepts and 
self-denial of their Master. But this passion for show can be 
regarded only as a flaw in their character, marring its trans- 
parency as iridescence does the pure crystal. 

10. My tenth and last example describes the opaque char- 
acter. 

We find at least two varieties in this respect among miner- 
als. Some crystals, such as mica, are transparent in one 
direction and opaque in another. 

It is so with some men. In a Christian land, it is not unu- 
sual to meet with those who have very clear views of the 
theory of religion, both doctrinal and practical, and you expect 
to find their hearts and lives conformed to their belief. But 
the moment you make the subject personal, you perceive that, 
the opaque side of their character is turned towards you, and 
all is repulsive and dark. Christ met such a man in the youth 
whom he loved, and who had kept all the commandments 
from his earliest days. How clear did his creed and his 
character seem ! But no sooner was the demand made for 
the sacrifice of his money for the good of others, than the 
crystal was turned, so as to be impervious to light. Selfish- 
ness had too firm a hold upon the heart to be cast out even 
by the persuasive voice of the Son of God. And so it has 
ever been, and is now, in the hearts of multitudes. 

Another striking exemplification of the character under 
consideration is seen in the manner in which many men treat 
some of the important moral reformations now in progress — 
say that of temperance. Converse with them, and they seem 
to be strenuous advocates of the cause ; but ask them to co- 
operate with you in plans for its advancement, and you 
develop a secret and unexpected hostility to the work in 



298 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

every form. Public opinion has forced them to profess 
friendship for it in general terms ; but when they are driven 
to the wall, and compelled to act one way or the other, you 
find out that the cause has no more bitter enemies. Their 
seeming transparency has given place to blank opacity, where 
guile, and duplicity, and self-indulgence lie coiled up together 
in the darkness in snaky brotherhood. 

The completely opaque mineral, such as coal, transmits not 
one ray of light, and all within is of course entirely con- 
cealed. It fitly represents a character thoroughly bad within 
and without. The only thing we like about it is, that there is 
no attempt to assume a borrowed dress in order to conceal 
the deformity within. The principles are bad, and the con- 
duct is bad ; and nothing but divine grace can transform the 
dark and shapeless mass into order, transparency, and beauty. 

I might go on to multiply symbolizations of character from 
the scientific history of the mineral kingdom, especially were 
I to derive my illustrations from other features of minerals 
bsides the optical. But I have probably said enough. Yet a 
few closing practical remarks will not be inappropriate. 

1. These illustrations may suggest to us some salutary 
cautions in judging of character. 

Recollect that the transparent character is the standard. 
Hence, if there be mystery about a man ; if he is jealous of 
others, yet careful to hide himself ; if his virtues are cloudy 
and indistinct ; if his opinions are colored by prejudice and 
passion ; if he is trying to accomplish certain darling worldly 
schemes, which depend mainly on popular favor ; if there is 
more about him of cunning plans than of simple, straight- 
forward integrity ; if he assumes different aspects in different 
positions ; and, especially, if he attempts to conceal his prin- 
ciples, and refuses to take a stand on the side of virtue and 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 299 

right, and truckles and panders to error and sin in high places, 
— then I would say, Be careful how you trust such a man. In 
short, we have reason to fear for our own and others' char- 
acters just in proportion to our departure from the true, trans- 
parent model of an Israelite indeed. 

2. The subject affords us an illustration of complete Chris- 
tian sanctif cation. 

The grace of God, when it first visited the Christian, found 
his character, if not absolutely opaque, yet so much so that 
even the light that was in him was darkness. That grace 
sent the power of eternal truth into the chaos, and re- 
arranged the purposes and the affections, and made the soul 
capable of transmitting more or less of uncolored light, so 
that ever since the false colors of the world, the flesh, and the 
adversary have been disappearing. But it is not till perfect 
transparency shall be produced, and guile, with its train of 
unholy passions, shall have disappeared, that the believer can 
enter heaven. O, how great a change must still pass upon 
most of us who profess religion, if we ever reach that holy 
place ! 

3. Finally, how important for our success and usefulness 
in this life is a perfectly guileless character ! 

Jesus Christ is described as one who did no sin, nor icas 
guile found in his mouth — as if that was the crowning excel- 
lence of his character. Indeed, an honest man is the noblest 
work of God. And there have been many such — Israelites 
indeed, in whom was no guile, though not absolutely free 
from sin, as Christ was. Hours would be requisite merely to 
mention the names of such, whose memory the church holds 
dear ; and volumes would be needed to describe their charac- 
ters. 1 will refer to only two examples, and that briefly. 

It is probable that the world has never seen such an ex- 



300 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

traordinary instance of moral influence as was acquired among 
all classes of men by the missionary Swartz, who for fifty 
years preached the gospel in India. He lived in the midst 
of Englishmen, Hindoos, and Mohammedans, and was ex- 
ceedingly plain and faithful to them all in his preaching and 
exhortations. Yet such was the respect for him manifested 
by them all, that even in the bloody wars waged among them, 
all parties regarded him as a friend, and even pagan rajahs 
gave orders to their soldiers not to interrupt his labors. And 
often was property intrusted to his hands, as well as the busi- 
ness of pacificator ; and the Rajah of Tanjore committed the 
education of his son, who was to succeed him, to Swartz. 
" Combined with humility," says his biographer, " was that 
singular and transparent simplicity, which so powerfully rec- 
ommended him to men of every rank and every religion, and 
which was the grand secret of his unparalleled influence and 
success. Can we wonder that one so pious, humble, upright, 
and sincere should excite the veneration and conciliate the 
confidence of all around him ; that Hindoo princes, observant 
and acute, should cultivate his friendship, invite his counsel, 
and invoke his protection ; that Mohammedan tyrants, subtle 
and suspicious, should respect his integrity and accept his 
mediation ; that European governors and officers, civil and 
military, should intrust to him the most important concerns, 
and cooperate with him in all his plans ; that by the great 
body of the people, of every class, he should be revered, 
idolized, and obeyed ? " 

Another example, of analogous character, was the confi- 
dence reposed in the American missionaries on Mount Leb- 
anon, during a sanguinary civil war between the Druzes 
and Maronites in that mountain, in 1845. Though the par- 
ties were bigotedly attached to their own corrupt religions, 



MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 301 

and felt no sympathy with the object of the missionaries, and 
though under the influence of the most ferocious hatred 
towards each other, they all assured the missionaries that 
their lives and property would be safe in the midst of car- 
nage, conflagration, and death. And so it proved. Nay, in 
the very heat of the conflict, when blood flowed like water, 
they requested the missionaries to act as mediators. " By the 
blessing of God," say the missionaries, " we secured the con- 
fidence of both parties in the region where we reside, and 
were assured on all hands that we had nothing to fear, who- 
ever should prove victorious. And when the wild whirlwind 
of war actually swept over Abeih, we not only remained in 
entire safety, but were able to afford shelter to multitudes of 
the unfortunate ; nor was the sanctity of our asylum violated 
in a single instance." O, what a mighty power there is in 
Christian simplicity and integrity ! 

Should it not, then, be an object of the highest ambition 
for every young man, especially, to establish a reputation for 
a guileless character, which can be done only by actually 
possessing it ? Let the community once get the impression 
that such is not his character ; that, instead of being artless 
and of unswerving integrity, he condescends to duplicity and 
artifice, and to partisan jugglery, to carry his points, and 
long will it be before he can disabuse the public mind of that 
impression, and recover their confidence. Let him, then, take 
care, in the first place, early to acquire this brightest jewel 
in the Christian's crown, and then secure it by a guileless life ; 
and he will find that he has a passport to usefulness and 
honor which nothing else can give. Guile may sometimes, 
indeed, carry a point, and gain an ephemeral reputation ; but 
dreadful will be the reaction when the truth comes out — so 
that in the end it will appear that honesty is always the best 
26 



302 MINERALOGICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF CHARACTER. 

policy. God grant that all of us may so live, that when we 
depart, an admiring world may write on each of our monu- 
ments the inscription, In simplicity and godly sincerity, not 
with fleshly wisdom, hut by the grace of God, he had his 
conversation in the world. 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 



Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, (Jehovah.) — Psalm 
xxxiii. 12. 

Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowl- 
edge. — Isaiah v. 13. 

If therefore the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. — John 
viii. 36. 

An important reciprocal influence has ever been admitted 
to exist between religion, education, and freedom ; but their 
inseparable connection and mutual dependence have rarely 
been maintained or demonstrated. If that can be done, the 
present is surely an appropriate occasion for attempting it. 
Such, therefore, is the theme which I shall present to this 
highly respected audience. 

The position taken on this subject is this : — 

Religion, Education, and Freedom, are inseparable, 
and mutually dependent. 

It will give, perhaps, a clearer idea of this general prop- 
osition, if it be divided and illustrated. 

First, then, true religion, an enlightened system of educa- 
tion, and genuine freedom, form the three great vital centres 
of the social system ; just as the brain, the heart, and the 
lungs are the centres of life in the animal system. Nor can 
you separate these centres from one another in the one case, 

(303) 



304 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 



any more than in the other, without destroying them all. 
Without a brain to give sensibility and motion, there would be 
no beating heart or heaving lungs. Without a heart to pro- 
pel the blood through the brain and the lungs, the latter would 
collapse, and the former would be paralyzed. And did not 
the lungs oxygenate and purify the blood, it would prove a 
deadly poison to the brain and the heart ; and no vital warmth 
would be imparted to the frame. So in the social system, 
were there no religion to give sensibility to our relations to 
God and our fellow-men, and to lead us to act from higher 
motives than atheism or pantheism could inspire, education, 
in its legitimate and liberal meaning, would never exist ; nor 
could freedom be enjoyed ; since, without the purifying and 
elevating influence of religion, the strong would oppress the 
weak, and keep them in hopeless servitude. So, if education 
were stricken from the social system, religion would degen- 
erate into formalism, or fanaticism ; and freedom would soon 
be drowned in licentiousness, or crushed by an iron despot- 
ism. And if freedom were to be smothered, religion would 
lose its vitality, and become a mere tool of ambition ; and ed- 
ucation would be ostracized as a dangerous agent, at least in 
the hands of the people at large. 

Secondly, no one of these vital centres of the social system 
can be in health and vigorous action, if the rest are diseased 
or palsied. For such is their mutual sympathy, that just so 
far as one is defective, or its vitality lowered, by an admix- 
ture of erroneous principles, will the others be crippled and 
benumbed. In the animal system, if disease has attacked the 
brain, we expect, not only that the mind will be oppressed, or 
act irregularly and wildly, but that the lungs and the heart 
will partake of the disordered movement. In like manner, if 
disease or poison be operating upon the heart, or the lungs, 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 305 

we cannot depend upon the healthy action of the brain and 
the mind. And the degree of irregularity existing in one of 
these vital organs is the index of the derangement in the 
others. Just so, if in any country a false or defective sys- 
tem of religion prevails, we may be sure to find correspond- 
ing deficiencies and errors in its system of education and its 
principles of liberty. In like manner, if we find its inhabit- 
ants ignorant, we can safely infer that its religion is propor- 
tionably erroneous, and its freedom defective. And if the 
liberties of a country have been usurped by the despotism of 
the many, or of the few, we may be sure that in the same 
ratio, its religion will be corrupt and its plans of education 
imperfect. 

Such is my explication and elucidation of the general prin- 
ciple advanced. I may seem to have taken strong ground ; 
but I trust it can be maintained by an appeal to Reason, to 
the Bible, and to Experience. I proceed, therefore, to de- 
fend my position by evidence drawn from these three sources. 

Preliminary to this argument, however, let me say, lest my 
positions should be misunderstood, that in maintaining the in- 
separable connection and mutual dependence of these three 
pillars of a nation's glory and strength, I do not contend that 
they are equally important. It will be universally admitted 
that the brain, the lungs, and the heart are inseparably con- 
nected and mutually dependent. But who does not know that 
the brain occupies a place, and executes functions in the sys- 
tem, of preeminent importance ? The influence that em- 
anates from it, along the conducting nerves, causes the heart 
to beat and the lungs to heave : in fact, all the phenomena of 
vitality depend upon it ; and so, in the present world, do the 
far more wonderful phenomena of intellect. But it is nev- 
ertheless true, that disordered action in the heart, or the lungs, 
26* 



306 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

will impair the functions of the brain ; so that we infer a mu- 
tual dependence ; while at the same time we assign the high- 
est place, and by far the most commanding influence, to the 
brain. 

In like manner, in the social system, no observing and rea- 
sonable man will hesitate to place religion at the head of all 
those influences by which the public good is promoted, the 
national character formed, and its destinies shaped. Moral 
obligation is the only power that can give genuine life and 
regulated action to a nation's energies ; and if that do not 
send its galvanic shocks into the whole system, not only will 
education and freedom fail of vitalization, but paralysis will 
seize upon the whole body politic ; — except that occasionally 
a convulsive agony, the symptom of approaching dissolution, 
may rack its frame and distort its features. Highest and 
foremost, therefore, we place religion among the influences 
that determine a nation's character ; although an important 
reflex influence upon religion, from education and freedom, 
must be admitted. 

It may be desirable to state another preliminary explana- 
tion. In maintaining the mutual dependence of these three 
great institutions of the social economy, so that when one 
fails or is crippled, the others suffer the same fate, it should 
be remembered that we speak of the community as a whole, 
and not of individual exceptions. For such exceptions may 
exist, of a striking character. The prevalent system of re- 
ligion may be very corrupt, and yet there may be found 
bright and beautiful examples of individual piety. So there 
may exist many splendid examples of scholarship, where the 
masses are profoundly ignorant. And even under the gloomy 
sway of despotism, individuals may be found enjoying a high 
degree of personal independence. But single exceptions of 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 307 

this sort cannot invalidate conclusions based upon tendencies 
and results, which are generally the same, and whose failure 
is only as one to a thousand. 

But what do we mean by the term religion ? Simply, I 
answer, the unadulterated system taught in the Bible, and 
illustrated perfectly in the life of the Founder of Christianity, 
and imperfectly, yet often beautifully, in the lives of those 
followers of Christ who have been eminent for their self- 
denying labors and vigorous faith. 

And what do we mean by education ? Not a system that 
provides for the gigantic scholarship of a favored few, while 
the many are left under the cloud of ignorance ; but a sys- 
tem that carries the torch of science through every portion 
of the community, offering it to all as freely as the daylight, 
and opening the path for the poorest and the humblest genius 
to find his way to the summit of Parnassus. 

And w T hat do we mean by freedom ? Not liberty for a 
few^ or even a majority, while a large portion of the commu- 
nity are cut off from its blessings ; not liberty for the whole 
without restraint ; not that reckless liberty, which abolishes 
all the salutary distinctions of society, founded on talents, 
character, and office, and levels every thing downwards, till 
all are sunk to the lowest grade ; but we mean such a degree 
of chastened liberty, as experience has shown most conducive 
to individual happiness and the public good. 

From these explanations I turn now to the evidence of the 
general position, that religion, education, and freedom, are in- 
separable and mutually dependent. I make my first appeal 
to reason ; in other words, to the nature of the case. 
The problem is this : knowing the character of man, and the 
nature of religion, education, and freedom, does reason alone, 
irrespective of Scripture and experience, afford a presumption 



308 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

in favor of the proposition, or against it? Reasoning a priori, 
should we conclude these three leading institutions of the 
social system to be mutually dependent, .and so connected 
that diseased action in one shall be communicated to all the 
rest ? 

In order to obtain a satisfactory answer to these inquiries, 
let us make a series of suppositions. 

Let us, in the first place, imagine that religion is stricken 
from this trio. Can education and freedom long survive ? 

To live without religion, is to be destitute of all sense of 
moral obligation to God or our fellow-men, and to be free 
from all influences and sanctions drawn from a future state of 
retribution. In such circumstances we need not resort to any 
theological dogma to show that supreme selfishness would be 
the controlling law of life, and consequently, that every man 
would strive to gain as much power, and distinction, and prop- 
erty as possible. But the more talented and discerning few 
would soon discover, that in proportion as the mass of men 
were enlightened and free, would be the difficulty of gratify- 
ing their selfish desires. While, therefore, they might en- 
courage education and freedom among a favored few, they 
would try to keep the many ignorant and in servitude. This 
is, in fact, the very process that has been acted over a thou- 
sand times in the history of our globe. The masses must be 
kept ignorant and degraded, or the few cannot monopolize 
the power, wealth, and influence, which selfish nature urges 
them to seek after with irresistible impulse. To root out 
religion, then, is to aim a death blow at education and free- 
dom. 

Let us next suppose a nation to be blessed with religion 
and freedom, but without education. Can she long retain the 
former ? 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 309 

Although the great principles and precepts of religion are 
simple, they are liable to be misunderstood and misapplied, 
if the intellect be uncultivated. Individuals quite ignorant 
may become devotedly pious, in a community where there 
are intelligent men to instruct them. But if the vast majority 
are unlettered, religion will almost inevitably lose its power 
beneath a multitude of external ceremonies, or run wild with 
fanaticism. For these extremes are more fascinating to the 
ignorant mind than the unostentatious piety of the heart, be- 
cause accompanied by more external glitter and noise. Be- 
sides, it is much easier for a heart in love with sin to practise 
pompous rites and ceremonies, or to cry out with Jehu, Come 
and see my zeal for the Lord, than to carry on a daily war- 
fare with sin within and without, and to set an example of 
charity, humility, and self-sacrifice. Hence it is, that in an 
ignorant community, religion never fails to degenerate into 
formalism or fanaticism ; and not unfrequently the two have 
been united. 

No less essential is intellectual cultivation to the support of 
genuine freedom. Men must understand its principles, or 
they will either become the dupes, and ere long the slaves, of 
unprincipled ambition, or they will mistake licentiousness for 
liberty, and soon be glad to take refuge in the despotism of 
one from the despotism of many. 

Imagine next, that a nation is blessed with religion and ed- 
ucation, but has lost its freedom. Can the former flourish 
under an arbitrary government ? 

Tyrants are usually eagle-eyed to discover any influences 
that are hostile to their usurped prerogatives. Now, the whole 
system of the Bible aims a fatal blow against all unrighteous 
authority, both because it brings all men on a level before 
God, and because it shows such authority to be hateful in his 



310 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

sight. Hence despotic power will not be satisfied till it has 
robbed Christianity of its vitality ; and, alas ! it has usually 
found a venal priesthood, ready to perform the mummifying 
process. 

An enlightened system of public education is almost equally 
hostile to arbitrary power as is Christianity. In fact, you 
cannot enlighten the people, generally, without teaching them 
their true character, and showing them that God made them 
to be free. Either, therefore, the power of the tyrant or ed- 
ucation must fall ; and the same agency which he has em- 
ployed to embowel Christianity will be ready to obliterate the 
primary school, and petrify the college and the university. 

These suppositions sustain, I trust, the first part of the gen- 
eral proposition, that religion, education, and freedom are in- 
separable. But the second part maintains that there is such 
a connection and sympathy between them, that to mar and 
deteriorate one is to impart what the chemist would call a 
catalytic influence to all the rest, whereby they shall be de- 
graded and become impure. To show this will require a 
parallel series of suppositions ; and yet by an appeal to his- 
tory, we might convert these assumptions into facts. But that 
belongs to my third argument. 

We will suppose the religion of a nation to become cor- 
rupt, either by the introduction of false doctrines, or the sub- 
stitution of external forms for the piety of the heart, or by an 
amalgamation with the world. Now, unadulterated Chris- 
tianity is a stern advocate for the most liberal system of ed- 
ucation ; both because it courts the most rigid scrutiny, and 
because, without intelligence in the community, its plain and 
honest features would soon be buried, and its vitality smoth- 
ered, beneath the meretricious ornaments of formalism, or 
burned over and blackened by the fires of fanaticism. But a 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 311 

corrupt system of religion dreads a pure system of education, 
lest its hypocrisy should be detected. It knows very well that 
education must be so modified as not to admit of freedom of 
discussion or freedom of opinion ; and that the great body of 
the people must be kept in comparative ignorance, or they 
will not submit to the trammels of a perverted Christianity. 
And, therefore, it will be hostile to any system of education 
that is not clipped and moulded to conform to its own de- 
graded standard. 

Equally jealous of freedom you will find every false sys- 
tem of Christianity. Religious liberty, especially, cannot be 
tolerated ; for, in such a case, the perversions of the truth, 
made by an unholy priesthood, or designing politicians, would 
soon be exposed, and then resisted. Uncomplaining conform- 
ity to the prevailing system is the imperious demand of every 
corrupt religion. And since nearly every such system links 
itself with the state, it can enforce conformity ; if not, at this 
day, by swords and fagots, yet by the almost eq.ually power- 
ful engines of governmental favors and disabilities. Hence, 
to pervert Christianity is to put a muzzle upon the mouth of 
freedom. 

Suppose a defective system of education to prevail in a 
country ; one, for example, where the majority of the people 
are uninstructed, and only the wealthy and aristocratic have 
access to the fountains of knowledge. The most inevitable 
result would be, that the educated few would encroach upon 
the rights of the ignorant many ; while the cunning priest 
would easily exalt himself above all that is called God, or 
that is worshipped ; so that, as God, he should sit in the 
temple of God, showing himself that he is God, and thus 
persuade the multitude that they must go to him for pardon 
and life eternal, instead of Jehovah. 



312 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

Or suppose arbitrary power to have gained the ascendency, 
where the people are well instructed, and pure religion pre- 
vails. In such a case, we may calculate upon one of two 
results. Either religion and education would teach the people 
rebellion, — for there can be no doubt but both of them are 
decidedly hostile to arbitrary power, — or the usurpers would 
contrive to infuse a narcotic influence into the pulpit, to close 
the primary school, and to render the press venal. 

From the known selfish and ambitious character of man, 
therefore, and the admitted sympathetic influence between 
religion, education, and freedom, does not reason decide that 
to obliterate one is to destroy the rest ? and to corrupt one is 
to sink the others to the same condition ? In support of these 
positions, I make my second appeal to the Bible. 

It should not be forgotten, however, that the grand object 
of the Bible is to instruct us in religion ; and no other sub- 
jects are mentioned, except as incidentally connected with 
this. We ought not to expect, therefore, that we shall find 
the general proposition which we are discussing, stated in so 
many words. Its leading features, however, I think we can 
find asserted and defended, directly or indirectly. 

The Bible shows us, for instance, how indispensable to a 
nation's happiness and glory is true religion. The passage 
first named at the head of this discourse — Happy is the na- 
tion whose God is the Lord — is an example. It does not 
say that such would be the effect of acknowledging and serv- 
ing any other God except Jehovah, the God of the Jews ; for 
so he is called in the original. The poet would make no 
difference between 

" Jehovah, Jove, and Lord." 

But the Bible declares, that u though there be that are called 
gods, whether in heaven or in earth, to us there is but one 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 313 

God, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord 
Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him." It is 
the service and love of that one God only, through that one 
Lord Jesus Christ, that can render a nation happy. That 
God declares that " he is a great king over all the earth ; a 
governor among the nations ; " and he challenges their love 
and service. " Let all the earth fear the Lord ; let all the 
inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." He goes 
farther, and declares the consequence of disobedience. u At 
what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concern- 
ing a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my 
sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good 
wherewith I said I would benefit them. If they will not 
obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation," saith 
the Lord. 

Thus does the Bible represent true religion as preeminently 
important to a nation's happiness. It also declares knowledge 
to be essential to the preservation of freedom and religion. 
The second text named at the head of this discourse teaches 
this, at least in part : Therefore my people are gone into 
captivity, because they have no knowledge. Here the loss of 
liberty is ascribed to ignorance ; and this, as we have seen, 
corresponds with reason, and, as we shall see, with experi- 
ence also. In another place, it is said, " For the transgres- 
sions of a land, many are the princes thereof," — that is, 
frequent changes and revolutions occur, — " but by a man of 
understanding and knowledge, the state thereof shall be pro- 
longed ; " that is, its prosperity shall be lengthened out. 
Again, it is said, " My people are destroyed for lack of 
knowledge : because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also 
reject thee." Again, " Wisdom and knowledge shall be the 
stability of thy times, and strength of salvation." 
27 



314 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

If it be objected that the term knowledge, in the Scriptures, 
usually means religious knowledge, and therefore does not 
embrace modern science and literature, whose acquisition is 
the chief thing in what we call education, it may be an- 
swered, first, that the term knowledge, in such texts as have 
just been quoted, did embrace every kind of intellectual ac- 
quisition that entered into the Jewish system of education ; 
of which, however, religion constituted nearly- the whole. 
Again, who will deny that the religious applications of mod- 
ern science and literature constitute their most important use ? 
Nay, what principle of science (and of literature we may say 
nearly the same) does not afford some illustration of the 
divine character or government, or of man's moral relations, 
and may not, therefore, be properly called a religious truth ? 
Furthermore, it will be confessed, that the moral and religious 
teachings and applications of modern education are precisely 
the principles that are the most important to the preservation 
of a nation's freedom and happiness. So that what the Bible 
says of the bearings of knowledge and of ignorance upon a 
nation's destinies, may be applied to the most valuable and 
perfect system of modern education. 

But the Bible proceeds a step farther, and shows us what is 
the character of the man who is most perfectly fitted to the 
exercise and enjoyment of freedom. This is pointed out in 
the third passage prefixed to this discourse : " If, therefore, 
the Son shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." That 
is, if the transforming power of the gospel has been exerted 
upon a man, so that he has become free from the power of 
sin, he is every whit free, — a freeman of the Lord, — fitted 
rightly to appreciate and become a champion of civil liberty, 
The Jews resented the imputation of Christ that they were 
not free, and said, " We be Abraham's seed, and were never 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 315 

in bondage to any man : how sayest thou, Ye shall be made 

free ? " Jesus answered them, " Verily, verily, I say unto 

you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 1 " Till 

that chain be broken, he cannot be truly free ; as the poet has 

finely expressed it — 

i 

" He is the freeman whom the truth makes free, 
And all are slaves besides." 

Finally, in the organization of the Christian church, as ex- 
hibited in the Bible, we have a divine testimony to the inti- 
mate connection between Christianity, freedom, and education. 
It seems difficult to read the inspired history of the establish- 
ment of the church impartially, without coming to the conclu- 
sion that it was a pure democracy — or, rather, its govern- 
ment seems to be what may be called a theocratic democ- 
racy ; by which I mean a government of the people ; and yet 
they are governed by the law of God, and their administra- 
tion consists mainly in carrying out the divine law. Each 
church consisted of brethren, with equal rights. They 
elected their own pastor and deacons, disciplined their own 
members, settled their own difficulties, and were independent 
of other churches, except so far as they asked for advice. 
The pastors, too, were all equal, save so far as age, talents, or 
superior piety, gave any the precedence. I do not say that 
all Christian churches, in all circumstances, are required to be 
organized on such a republican model. The Jewish church 
— synonymous with the Jewish nation — was a theocracy ; 
and I sincerely respect the opinion of eminent men, who 
have thought the diocesan and metropolitan forms of church 
government the best for men in other circumstances. I sin- 
cerely respect that opinion, I say, so long as they base it upon 
expediency, and not upon the Bibie. That book certainly 



316 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

describes the primitive church, established by Christ and his 
apostles, as an institution thoroughly democratic ; and is not 
this a strong testimony in favor of free civil governments ? 
especially when they, and they alone, harmonize with the 
whole spirit of Christianity, which regards all men as breth- 
ren of a common Father. Indeed, though the Bible directs 
Christians to obey whatever rulers Providence may have 
placed over them, so long as they are tolerable, yet where has 
it given a testimony in favor of any other except a free gov- 
ernment ? 

In the characteristics both of the members and the minis- 
ters of the church, which the Bible has given, we find also a 
testimony in favor of education, as essential to the purity of 
religion and freedom. It demands, first of all, an intelligent 
and rational submission of intellect and heart to the authority 
and will of God ; and then it directs believers to " prove all 
things, and to hold fast that which is good " — a requisition 
impossible to a mind entirely uneducated. Then, too^ if we 
read Paul's descriptions of the ministerial character, espe- 
cially in his Epistles to Timothy, we shall see a demand for a 
very thorough mental discipline. Even under the old dispen- 
sation, it was said that " the priests' lips should keep knowl- 
edge." We are not, then, surprised to hear Paul exhorting 
Timothy " to give attendance to reading," as well as to " ex- 
hortation and doctrine ; " also, to " meditate on these things, 
and give himself wholly to them, that his profiting might 
appear to all, and that he might make full proof of his min- 
istry.'" Surely, nothing but thorough literary discipline could 
qualify a man for such a work. Theology, the noblest of all 
sciences, is but the quintessence of them all ; and he only 
who has studied them can extract and condense it. 

Is it not clear, then, that the Bible, while it places religion 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 317 

immeasurably above every thing else, does yet, directly, or 
by fair implication, strongly advocate the most enlarged sys- 
tem of education, and the purest form of national freedom ? 
And does it not represent the absence, or defects, of the two 
latter to be fatal or injurious to the former ? 

But I make my third appeal, in support of this position, to 
experience — by which I mean history. And here the diffi- 
culty is not to find appropriate examples, but to make se- 
lections. 

Let us first look at some examples where attempts have 
been made t6 sustain one or more of the institutions under 
consideration, while the rest were wanting. 

The ancient Jewish state was an example, where the reli- 
gious system, so far as it was developed, was pure, but the 
education was defective. Excepting a knowledge of their 
own history and religion, there was almost nothing that could 
be called literature or science ; and the views of the body of 
the people were very narrow and bigoted. Mark, now, some 
of the effects. One was, that in spite of the awakening 
power of a miraculous dispensation, and the repeated warn- 
ings of Jehovah himself, and their strong national pride, they 
were almost constantly falling into the idolatry of the sur- 
rounding nations. Another was, that Jehovah found it de- 
sirable, out of regard to what the Scriptures call the " hard- 
ness of their hearts," to allow certain practices among them, 
which most enlightened nations shrink from ; such as polyg- 
amy, slavery, and bloody wars. Another effect was, that 
instead of allowing them freedom, it was necessary often for 
Jehovah not only to suffer them to have kings, but such kings 
" as would chastise them with whips and scorpions." And 
notwithstanding all the wisdom of Jehovah in managing their 
national affairs, and his mercies, judgments^ and warnings, at 
27* 



318 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO, 

the time of Christ they had become a province of the Roman 
empire, and their religion had degenerated into the whited 
sepulchre of phariseeism, or the yet more repulsive carcass 
of sadduceeism. 

Look now at an opposite example, in the effort made in 
France, near the close of the last century, to establish free- 
dom and education without religion. It was like an attempt 
to erect a noble edifice without any foundation. It was 
worse ; it was like placing such an edifice upon ground that 
was already rocking and heaving by the stifled fires of a ter- 
rific volcano. The fires of ferocious passions, fanned into 
a sevenfold heat by the sirocco breath of atheism, did soon 
break forth beneath that temple of liberty, and it was blown 
to atoms ; while streams of scorching lava were belched forth 
over every European nation, and the gloom of a military des- 
potism settled down upon the fairest portion of the globe, the 
whole forming a memento of the terrible retribution that fol- 
lows an effort to dethrone God and deify human reason. 

Another fact which history furnishes, illustrative of this 
subject, is the intimate connection that has ever existed be- 
tween despotism, ignorance, and false or perverted religion 
— par nobile fratrwn. I am not aware of a single excep- 
tion, in the whole annals of our world ; and where the tyranny 
has been the most grinding, the religion has been the most 
corrupt, and the ignorance the most profound. As illustra- 
tions of this statement, in ancient times, memory shows, im- 
printed on her tablet, Assyria and Media, Persia and Egypt ; 
in the middle ages, almost the whole of Europe ; and in 
modern times, nearly all of Asia ; over whom the triple- 
headed monster above named is seen enthroned in gloomy 
sovereignty — a snaky Gorgon, converting every thing fair 
and lovely to stone by his hideous aspect. On such a soil, 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 319 

true religion, or popular education, or true freedom, could no 
more flourish than the palm tree on the glaciers of Spitz- 
bergen. 

It will doubtless be objected, that despotic governments 
have often been liberal patrons of learning and of art, and 
that countries thus governed have produced many splendid 
examples of genius and scholarship. And why has this pat- 
ronage been extended ? Because such governments have 
learned that knowledge is power, and so long as it is confined 
to comparatively few, they can monopolize it, and make it 
instrumental in upholding their authority. But they would 
not dare to extend its blessings to the community at large, 
because their power would be apt to change hands. Accord- 
ingly, we do not find that despotic governments encourage or 
permit the great body of their subjects to seek the blessings 
of an enlightened system of education ; or if, in a few in- 
stances, they have made education somewhat popular, they 
have found themselves compelled, ere long, to allow more 
liberty to their subjects. 

All the ancient republics, and most of the modern, furnish 
us with examples of the blighting influence of false religion 
upon popular education and freedom. It will not be doubted 
that, in the ancient republics, much freedom of thought and 
action was enjoyed by certain classes ; and we know that lit- 
erature and speculative philosophy were carried to a high 
degree of perfection, and that the fine arts, also, were most 
successfully cultivated. We are apt, however, to be dazzled 
and deceived by the splendor of those literary and artistic 
productions that have escaped the ravages of time, and are 
yet the models of style and taste. We need to ascertain what 
was the character of the freedom enjoyed in those republics, 
and what the condition of the mass of the people. Accord- 



320 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

ingly, history informs us that, in the Athenian and Lacedae- 
monian states, a large majority were slaves, over whom their 
masters exercised the power of life and death, and whom they 
treated with the most inhuman rigor. Nay, since the debtor 
became, ipso facto, the slave of the creditor, a large part of 
those nominally free were in fact bondmen. Those, then, 
who were really free, constituted, in truth, only a numerous 
nobility, or aristocracy ; so that the government was really an 
oligarchy. The military spirit, also, controlled and moulded 
every thing else ; and we know how, in Sparta, it obliterated 
the domestic relations, justified theft and deception, and sub- 
stituted an iron-hearted martial law for the tender charities of 
life. If the fine arts were cultivated in the Grecian states, 
yet agriculture and commerce were neglected and despised. 

In Rome the state of things was no better. There you 
find the same horrid system of slavery ; the same right of 
life and death in the hands of the father and the master over 
the child and the slave, - — resulting in the practice of infanti- 
cide, murder, and gladiatorial combats. There, too, the patri- 
cians were engaged in endless contests for power with the 
plebeians ; yet all united in submitting to the severest military 
discipline, and, while professedly free themselves, in subject- 
ing all other nations to an iron yoke. In short, while you 
find a small part of the people — a numerous aristocracy — 
boasting of freedom, and well educated for the times, the 
great mass are left ignorant and in servitude, and the whole 
community is moulded by a martial code, inflexible and 
bloody, which, indeed, nourished some of the sterner virtues, 
but stifled the tender charities of life, and. while it guarded 
with jealous care the honor and liberties of the state, kept a 
large multitude in hopeless servitude at home, and with insa- 
tiable ambition preyed upon surrounding nations, till the world 
and the Roman empire became synonymous terms. 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 321 

Suppose, now, any one of the systems of government that 
were adopted by these ancient republics, with its military 
spirit, its slavery, and its religion, were to be introduced into 
New England. What a contrast to the systems of govern- 
ment, religion, education, and social life, which now exist 
among us ! Who of us would not rather choose any of the 
monarchical, nay, even of the despotic, systems of civilized 
Europe ? 

After all, however, there were many noble- hearts in those 
ancient republics, in whom the true spirit of freedom glowed, 
and who did all they could to impart true liberty and knowl- 
edge to their fellow-men. What, then, were the causes that 
counteracted their efforts, and rendered it impossible for a 
true system of freedom, or of education, to succeed ; which 
in fact marred and blackened the fair countenance of liberty 
and civilization with some of the most hideous features of 
despotism and barbarism ? The philosophical historian and 
politician have long attempted to answer these inquiries ; and 
doubtless some of the causes they have assigned were power- 
fully instrumental of such results : but they seem to have 
overlooked one great source of influence, and that is, reli- 
gion. They speak, indeed, of the necessity of public virtue 
to the purity and preservation of freedom ; but they seem not 
to realize that virtue which springs not from religion is spu- 
rious and ephemeral, and that consequently, if the religion be 
false or corrupt, the virtue, the freedom, and education will 
be proportionably defective. True, the polytheism of Greece 
and Rome was the least offensive heathenism, modified as it 
was by philosophy and poetry, which the world ever saw. 
Still it was false enough, and pernicious enough, to permit 
opinions and practices inconsistent with genuine freedom and 
popular education. 



322 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

Were there time, it would be easy to point out similar cor- 
rupting and paralyzing influences, emanating from perverted 
systems of religion, upon most modern republics. But this 
would require too much of detail for the present occasion. 

The history of the efforts made to establish free govern- 
ments in South America, and in Mexico, strikingly illustrates 
and confirms the position taken in this discourse. The people 
there doubtless wonder why their exertions to build up 'free 
institutions have produced only a succession of civil wars, 
with short intervals of military despotism. But when we 
learn the intolerant character of their religion, we wonder not 
at the ignorance and superstition of the people, nor that they 
cannot be governed by any thing save despotic power. To 
expect freedom with such a religion, and such ignorance, is 
like looking for grapes upon thorns, and figs upon thistles. 

Another historic fact, illustrative of this argument, is, that 
a state religion has always exerted an unfavorable influence 
upon popular education and civil and religious liberty. The 
mere existence of a state religion, indeed, puts an end to 
religious freedom, by the bestowment of governmental pat- 
ronage upon one denomination, and thus leaving the others, 
at the best, to exist by mere sufferance. Despotism has al- 
ways found religion a most convenient instrument for riveting 
its chains upon the people. The state first embraces religion, 
as if for protection, but soon throttles it, and then uses its 
lifeless form as a speaking trumpet, through which is pro- 
claimed the divine right of kings, the duty of unreserved 
submission to their authority, and other anti-republican dog- 
mas. Witness Turkey, Italy, Russia, and Austria ; and, I 
might add, almost every Asiatic kingdom. There you see the 
perfected fruit of a union of church and state, in the almost 
total ignorance, degradation, and servitude, of the people. In 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 323 

some milder governments, however, as Great Britain, and 
Prussia, and other German states, the attempt has been made 
to combine state religion with the education of the people at 
large ; and Prussia especially presents us with a model sys- 
tem, so far as the mode of instruction is concerned. But the 
government directs what shall be taught the people, and takes 
special care that monarchical principles and war doctrines 
shall be instilled. And since every educated man depends 
upon the government for a place, either in the state, the army, 
or the church, very little of true freedom of opinion can be 
enjoyed. Nor will a New England man think very highly 
of the system of popular education in Great Britain — Scot- 
land excepted — when he learns that of the sixteen millions 
of England and Wales, nearly half cannot write their names, 
and nearly one third cannot read their mother tongue. Surely 
there must be some powerful obstacle to the diffusion of 
knowledge in such a country ; but a state religion and a sys- 
tem of aristocracy explain it all. Of all monarchical coun- 
tries, however, Great Britain possesses the most freedom, the 
most intelligence, and the most true religion ; and would she 
divorce church and state, almost the last incubus would be 
removed from her prosperity and happiness. 

But arbitrary governments, especially on the continent of 
Europe, are beginning to learn that to instruct the people at 
large is a hazardous experiment, even though the system of 
instruction be carefully adapted to the support of their power 
and the state religion. For if you once put the human 
mind upon thinking, it will not always stop where you would 
have it. And in the countries referred to the people are 
demanding at least the right of popular representation in the 
government ; and though cannon and bayonets may for a time 
stifle this demand, it will soon gather explosive force enough, 



324 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

if not regarded, to rend the throne to atoms. The rocking 
thrones of continental Europe clearly evince that education 
is in advance of liberty and religion. But the reciprocal 
influence that exists between them will ere long bring them 
upon a level — by elevating the two latter, as we may hope, 
and not by sinking the former. 

History furnishes another support to this argument in the 
fact that the countries most distinguished for freedom and 
general education are those where the Bible is most widely 
circulated. For examples we may refer to the United States, 
Scotland, and Iceland. The latter country, separated from 
all the world, with arctic snows upon and volcanic fires be- 
neath its surface, and too poor to be an object of cupidity, 
though nominally subject to the Danish government, is in 
reality a free state, and is blessed with a most effective, though 
peculiar system of education, and with primitive simplicity of 
piety. Scotland, too, is nominally a part of a monarchical 
empire. But it were to be wished that all republics enjoyed 
as much liberty, and their people were as well educated, and 
their virtue and piety as pure and elevated. With the excep- 
tions above referred to, we might say the same of England, 
where the Bible has a wide distribution. The republics of 
Switzerland, too, may be quoted as a striking illustration of 
this argument. For here we have professedly free states, 
lying side by side, in some of which the Bible is restrained 
in its circulation^ and in others it is widely diffused ; and it is 
said that the traveller needs no map to inform him when he 
has passed from one description of these provinces into the 
other. 

Now, it needs no time spent to show that, if education and 
liberty follow in the track of the Bible, and, with a few unim- 
portant exceptions, are cramped and sickly where that book 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 325 

is not diffused, — it requires, I say, no labored argument to 
show that that book is eminently favorable to free institutions 
and popular instruction. But if further evidence on this point 
be required, we have it in the history of the Scotch Covenant- 
ers and the English Puritans. 

Little did these men, who for two hundred years suffered 
an unrelenting persecution from despots and hierarchs, ima- 
gine that they were working out and giving to the world 
the great principles of civil and religious liberty. Driven 
from their native land by the persecutions of Mary, Provi- 
dence sent them to Geneva, where, in the church founded by 
such men as Farel and Calvin, they found freedom of opinion 
and the rights of conscience asserted. . Having caught the 
spirit of that church, when permitted to return to England 
and Scotland, they could not resist the impulse to establish 
religious freedom there. But, in this attempt, they found 
that they could not secure freedom of conscience without 
securing also civil liberty. Hence they threw themselves 
manfully into the contest ; and the result was the independ- 
ence of Scotland, and the establishment of the commonwealth 
in England. A later, but still more important, result was the 
settlement of this country by men who drew their religious 
principles directly from the Bible, and who carried their lofty 
ideas of religious freedom into the civil constitution and into 
all their plans of education. To these men, therefore, was 
the world indebted for the first clear development of the true 
principles of civil and religious liberty. To them, says 
Hume, the English people owe the whole freedom of their 
constitution ; and, as a more recent and eloquent writer ob- 
serves, " then were first proclaimed those mighty principles 
which have since worked their way into the depths of the 
American forest, which have roused Greece from the slavery 
28 



326 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

and degradation of two thousand years, and which, from one 
end of Europe to the other, have kindled an unquenchable 
fire in the hearts of the oppressed, and loosed the knees of 
the oppressors with unwonted fear." * 

Such is what may be called the inseparable trio — religion, 
education, and freedom. And such are the arguments by 
which it is proved how strongly linked together they are by 
a chain of influence that conveys with electric speed the 
strength and purity, or the weakness and corruption, of one 
to all the rest. 

The subject suggests a multitude of important inferences ; 
and with a brief notice of a few I will relieve your exhausted 
patience. 

1. It shows us the reason why arbitrary governments and 
corrupt religions have been so much afraid of the circulation 
of the Bible. 

Their supporters have usually been sagacious enough to 
discover that the Bible is a stern advocate for civil and reli- 
gious freedom, and uncompromising towards all corruptions 
of its spirit. They know that the man who submits himself 
fully and sincerely to its principles and spirit becomes thor- 
oughly republican, and hostile to false doctrine. Hence they 
sympathize with the priest of a perverted Christianity in Eng- 
land, soon after the art of printing had begun to multiply 
copies of the Scriptures : " We must .root out printing," said 
he in his sermon, " or printing will root us out." This was 
a true prediction ; and in these times we are witnessing its 
fulfilment. 

2. The subject shows us that the religious element is fun- 
damental,in order to the support of free institutions. 

Nor is it a false religion, or a perverted Christianity, that 

* Macaulay. 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 327 

will do this ; but there must be genuine piety in the commu- 
nity, or liberty will ere long degenerate, if it does not utterly 
expire. And it was the lot of Puritanism, for the first time 
in this world's history, to discover, and by its sufferings and 
struggles and triumphs to demonstrate, this most important 
of all principles in the science of government. Even yet the 
world is purblind to this truth ; and men are every where 
struggling for liberty, and expecting to sustain it when ac- 
quired, though religion have but a feeble hold upon the 
community. And when they are disappointed, as they always 
are where pure religion does not prevail, enlightened states- 
men seem in general to overlook this fundamental defect, and 
attempt to account for the failure upon other principles. But 
the Puritan has ever been distinguished, — and in almost 
every country but our own has been hated and persecuted, — 
not more for the uncompromising features of his theology 
than for his stern independence of character. Yet that inde- 
pendence is founded in his religion ; and not till his views 
prevail, and his example be imitated, will men come into the 
full realization of their dreams of freedom. 

3. The subject shows us that the prevalence of true reli- 
gion will insure the prevalence of education and liberty. 

Christianity is as stern an advocate of education among 
all classes as for the freedom of all. Nor can it conceal 
features so strongly marked ; so that wherever it prevails in 
its purity it will insist upon enlightening men's minds, and in 
breaking from their necks every yoke. And here, too, Puri- 
tanism has set the example. Wherever she has planted her 
foot, her first care has been to rear a temple to Jehovah, 
then to found the college, the academy, and the primary 
school. 

4. We see how important to the defence and purity of 



828 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

true religion are education and freedom among all classes 
of the community . 

Though an ignorant man and a slave may exercise pious 
feelings, he can neither defend Christianity against sceptical 
objections, nor accurately expound its doctrines, nor guard 
its spirit against the frosts of formalism or the wildfire of 
fanaticism. When the metaphysician by subtle arguments 
attempts to show that the external world has no existence, 
and consequently no argument can thence be deduced for 
the being of a God ; when the phrenologist makes virtue and 
vice dependent rather upon cranial conformation than upon 
moral causes ; when the physiologist maintains that mental 
phenomena are a mere function of the brain, and that organic 
beings, as well as all natural operations, may be the result 
of law, without a Deity ; when the astronomer demonstrates 
that the earth is not fixed, nor does the sun literally rise and set, 
as it was formerly supposed the Bible taught ; when the ge- 
ologist describes a preadamite earth of indefinite duration, and 
the chemist declares that the world has already been burned, 
and therefore can undergo no future conflagration ; and when 
the philologist throws doubts over the obvious meaning of 
Scripture, and converts its plainest truths into enigmas ; and 
when baptized philosophy makes divine and poetic inspiration 
synonymous, — O, what but ripe learning can harmonize all 
these apparently discordant elements, and vindicate and enu- 
cleate the pure truths of the Bible ? And what but general 
intelligence can secure the mass of the community, amid 
such angry waves, from making shipwreck of the faith ? 

5. The subject shows us when it may be safe and expedient 
to unite church and state. 

Let no one be startled when we maintain that church and 
state should be united at the proper time. The only difficulty 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 329 

is, that men have attempted it too early. We have endeav- 
ored to show that the government of the church, as described 
in the New Testament, is a democracy, where the members 
are governed by supreme love to God and equal love to all 
mankind. Now, suppose the church to be enlarged till it 
embraces all the world, and all its members conform strictly 
to these great principles. Suppose, moreover, that all civil 
governments become strictly republican, and the rulers take 
the law of God as the basis of all political action. How 
much, in such a case, would the church differ from the state ? 
Unless there are political measures that have no moral char- 
acter, the two institutions would be nearly, perhaps precisely, 
synonymous. Both of them would be what I have called a 
theocratic democracy ; and there would be but one govern- 
ment and one church in all the earth. That would indeed be 
the perfect state of society so much talked of and so little 
understood. When such a state of the world arrives, — alas, 
how long will it be delayed ! — then let church and state be 
united. Indeed, you cannot keep them apart. But till then, 
their union will be as incongruous and incoherent as the parts 
of Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold, brass, iron, and clay. 

6. We see in this subject the reason why so many efforts 
to secure freedom have failed of success. 

Men under despotic rulers suppose that the grand point is 
to obtain their freedom ; whereas a much greater difficulty is 
to secure it. Knowing the character of the religion and the 
state of education in France before the revolution in 1789, 
and m South America more recently, we might have pre- 
dicted the anarchy and the despotism that followed the efforts 
in those countries to establish independence. As republicans, 
it was indeed natural for us to entertain hopes that the recent 
convulsive efforts in continental Europe to establish free insti- 
28* 



330 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

tutions would not be wholly blasted. But we were too for- 
getful of the state of religion and of general education in 
those countries. If a people who scruple not to hold their 
political elections, their inductions to office, their public festi- 
vals, and their military reviews on the Sabbath can long 
maintain a pure republicanism, then the history of the world 
hitherto must go for nothing as a means of judging of the 
future. The same may be said essentially of that nation 
where the popular mind is left uninstructed. And when we 
recollect, moreover, what millions are ready, at the beck of 
despots and hierarchs, to smother every cry for freedom, we 
ought to have been prepared to hear the dying shriek of 
liberty which reached us before the last year's close from 
every one of these countries but France, and for those rapid 
developments even there which show her citizens yet unpre- 
pared for free institutions. These nations, it may be hoped, 
will not sink back into as deep a political night as before ; yet 
we may be sure they will sink to the level of the religion and 
the education among the people. 

7. This subject shows us that nations, as well as individ- 
uals, should make the principles of the Bible the basis of 
their policy and their treatment of one another. 

Strange that any other doctrine should have been promul- 
gated, and that the same men who acknowledged their indi- 
vidual obligation to love their neighbor as themselves, to do 
unto others as they would that others should do unto them, 
and to bless them by whom they are persecuted, and even 
to love their enemies, should maintain that principles of expe- 
diency and policy should take the place of moral principles 
in managing the affairs of nations. For what reason can be 
urged to bind individuals to conform to the rules of the Bible 
which will not apply to nations ? And if pure religion be, as 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 331 

we have endeavored to show, the most important of all the 
foundations $n which a nation's liberty and true glory rest, 
can that people expect prosperity if its government substitute 
something else as the guide of their measures ? And yet, 
had governments conducted towards one another according 
to gospel principles, what an amount of blood and treasure 
would have been spared, and what an amount of happiness 
secured ! 

8. In the eighth place, if these three great interests of the 
community are thus inseparable, then should the different 
classes appointed for their protection and advancement he 
united also. 

He whose special business it is to watch over and defend 
the interests of religion should be in sympathy and harmony 
vwith those whose lives are devoted to the cause of education, 
and with those who are appointed to manage our political 
concerns. And so should these latter classes reciprocate that 
sympathy towards the guardians of religion. They all should 
mutually realize that, if the interests of any one of the trio 
are not properly and efficiently provided for, the interests of 
the others will suffer also. Instead of indulging illiberal 
prejudices towards one another, all should feel as if they 
had a common cause to sustain, and as if a wound could not 
be inflicted upon one without reaching the whole. Thus 
would they form a threefold cord, which both Scripture and 
experience testify is not quickly broken. 

Finally, the subject defines the great outlines of that policy 
which the riders of Massachusetts should ever pursue. 

Far be it from me to allude to particular political measures 
in the presence of the constituted authorities of this common- 
wealth. But my office and my subject force me to speak of 
the great principles on which a government founded by the 



332 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

Pilgrims should be conducted. Their first and constant aim 
was to establish and foster the institutions of religion, educa- 
tion, and freedom. To sustain religion, they found it only 
necessary to allow perfect freedom of opinion, and to protect 
all in the peaceful exercise of those forms of worship which 
conscience dictates to be right. They had learned by bitter 
experience that to take religion into the embrace of the state 
was only to cramp its vital powers, and convert it into a 
furious, persecuting demon. Education, too, they did not 
attempt to bring under governmental control ; but only by 
liberal benefactions to stimulate individual efforts. And with 
such a religion, and such means of education, they did not 
doubt that the people would select those men to manage their 
political affairs who would defend their liberties and wisely 
administer the government. It is a matter of just gratulation 
that all who have filled the places of honor and trust once 
occupied by the Pilgrims in these respects have followed 
essentially their system of policy. On questions of political 
expediency they have had different opinions ; but on these 
fundamental principles they have all been united. Indeed, 
no Massachusetts statesman could outlive the storm which a 
desertion of these principles would bring upon him. To 
honor and sustain religion, diffuse knowledge among the peo- 
ple, and preserve true liberty, — this is a policy as settled in 
Massachusetts as the laws of the Medes and Persians. She 
cannot hope for superiority by her numbers, extent of terri- 
tory, or any natural advantages. But by the fostering care 
of a free government over her religious and literary institu- 
tions, she can qualify and send forth, as she already has done, 
strong men into every part of the earth to place a lever be- 
neath the abodes of ignorance, sin, and despotism, and lift 
them up into the sunshine of Christianity, civilization, and 
freedom. 



THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 333 

To give Massachusetts such a character is the noble work 
committed to the constituted authorities of the state now before 
me. We congratulate them upon the honor of occupying 
seats made sacred by so long a line of illustrious men, with 
so illustrious a beginning. It is indeed a distinction to be 
coveted to take the place of such men, and to have confided 
to your management interests so momentous. And it is a 
delightful evidence that the spirit of our fathers still lingers 
here to find his excellency the Governor, his honor the Lieu- 
tenant Governor, the honorable Council, the honorable Senate, 
and the House of Representatives, instead of converting the 
Sabbath into a holiday or a business day, converting a busi- 
ness day into a Sabbath, and calling to their aid the ministers 
of the gospel, that, at the commencement of their responsible 
duties, they may recognize their dependence upon an over- 
ruling Providence, and baptize their legislation with the spirit 
of religion. 

It is gratifying also to know that the long and eminent 
public services of the beloved statesmen who for six succes- 
sive years have filled the two highest places in the executive 
department of the government have been a practical exem- 
plification of the principles which I have advocated in this 
discourse ; and therefore, although I have given them no 
instruction, I feel almost sure that I have had their sympathy. 
Their oft-repeated reelection affords evidence that the people 
of Massachusetts are not tired of hearing their rulers called 
" the just." Nor can I doubt that all the other gentlemen 
composing the government, and elected by the same people, 
are imbued with the like spirit, and that their legislation, the 
present session, will show that they regard religion, education, 
and freedom as inseparable. God give them success in a 
career so noble and important ! And God inspire all their 



334 THE INSEPARABLE TRIO. 

successors with the like spirit ! Then, though, by the expan- 
sion of our national territory, Massachusetts should become 
relatively almost a point, yet shall it be a point radiant with 
the light of piety, of learning, and of liberty. And as the 
stars in the heavens above us, that revolve within the circle 
of perpetual apparition, never sink below the horizon, so shall 
this commonwealth ever shine bright in the political hemi- 
sphere — a morning star to usher in the full daylight of civil- 
ization, of freedom, and of happiness, to the benighted and 
oppressed in all the earth. 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 



Amid all the darkness and confusion of this world, there is 
one precious volume, to which the Bible furnishes the key, 
and which, if carefully studied, shows us how to trace out 
the relation of events apparently casual or discrepant, and 
clears up most of the enigmas by which we are surrounded. 
It is the book of divine providence. There is one chapter of 
that volume which seems to me peculiarly appropriate to the 
present occasion. Its leading object is to show that when God 
has an important object to accomplish, he raises up, and pre- 
pares by the most appropriate discipline, the individuals or the 
communities best adapted to the work. If I can succeed in 
giving you the contents of this chapter, and thus establish and 
illustrate this most important position, I shall feel as if I had 
fulfilled the commission with which I have been honored 
to-day. 

In the divine administration of the affairs of this world, it 
becomes necessary to raise up instruments, sometimes to 
punish, and sometimes to bless, individuals and communities. 
Hence we can often see as much of providential design in the 
history of the wicked scourges of the world, as of its choicest 
benefactors. 

In looking over the page of history for examples illustrative 

(335) 



336 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

of this subject, the difficulty is, not to find them, but, among 
so many, to make an appropriate selection. 

The Bible is eminently a book of divine providence ; or 
rather, such is its object, that the events detailed in it are seen 
to be more distinctly related to one another, and to a specific 
object, than the details of profane history. Hence we must 
not omit to appeal to that volume on the present occasion. 

We may go back even to the antediluvian world. The 
extreme wickedness of the race made it necessary that God 
should specially interpose for its destruction by a flood of 
waters. But he needed at least one eminently holy man, who 
might be saved, and prevent the extinction of the race. Such 
a man was Noah. He had the firmness to persevere for one 
hundred and twenty years in building an ark, amid the scoffs 
and jeers of all around him, who depended on nature's con- 
stancy, and laughed at God's threatenings. A man of ordi- 
nary piety, and of feeble mind, never could have sustained 
such a trial, and therefore God raised up one, even in those 
times of deep degeneracy, of extraordinary energy and piety ; 
and thus was the object accomplished, and the race preserved. 

The effect, however, of this terrible penal infliction was 
soon lost, and idolatry and wickedness again triumphed. 
God therefore determined to select a particular family as the 
progenitors of a race to be kept distinct from all the rest of 
the world, and over whom he would exercise a special and 
even miraculous providence. It was important that the father 
of this nation should be a man of extraordinary mental and 
moral worth. No other man could lay broad and deep the 
foundations of a new and peculiar nation. Abraham there- 
fore appeared at the proper time, and was made to pass 
through such discipline as would have crushed an ordinary 
man. The first startling command which he received was, to 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 337 

leave his father's house, his kindred and his country, and go 
out, not knowing whither he went. In the exercise of uncon- 
querable faith he obeyed, and wandered long ere he reached 
the promised land of Palestine. There, after various disci- 
pline, he was called to a trial of his faith, probably the most 
severe which God ever imposed on man — I mean the com- 
mand to offer up his only son as a burnt offering. Yet, hav- 
ing obeyed, he became well entitled to be called the father of 
the faithful. 

But although descended from such a progenitor, it was ne- 
cessary that the Hebrew nation should pass through a long 
and bitter experience to make them worthy of being called 
the chosen people of God. Four hundred and thirty years 
of hard bondage could alone train them for the work God had 
assigned thern ; and appropriate instruments must be prepared 
to bring about this result. Joseph was appointed to lead the 
way in bringing the whole of the descendants of Abraham 
into servitude. Mildness and quiet submission to whatever 
God laid upon him seem to have been the predominant traits 
in his character. Such a man could bear to be made gov- 
ernor over all Egypt without losing his humility and fraternal 
sympathies, even though sold as a slave by his brethren. 
Thus were the Israelites decoyed, as it were, into servitude. 
They found one of their own number to protect them, and 
place them in the richest part of the country, so that they 
multiplied exceedingly. Ere long, however, they began to 
feel the rigors of their bondage, and sighed for a rescue. 
The appointed time at length came. But now a different set 
of instruments must be prepared for the work ; and God 
knew how to provide them. On the one hand, it was neces- 
sary that a leader of great energy and wisdom should be 
ready to undertake the gigantic labor. And such a man was 
29 



338 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

Moses. He needed the best education that could be given 
him in Egypt, and Providence took care that he should, in his 
infancy, become the protege of Pharaoh's daughter. Yet he 
must not lose his attachment to his own kindred, and there- 
fore he was permitted to witness such oppression of a Hebrew 
as roused the man and the patriot within him, and led him to 
take the sword of avenging justice into his own hand. Thus 
was he compelled to flee from Egypt, and by a forty years' 
discipline in a humble and obscure station, he became emi- 
nently fitted for the great work that was before him ; from 
which, however, he now shrunk, because he had learned its 
magnitude, and his own weakness. But when the harness 
was fairly buckled on, and he felt God's arm underneath him, 
he bore up manfully, and acquitted himself nobly, because 
God had disciplined him for the work. 

In order, however, that the power and justice of Jehovah 
should be signally displayed, and the Egyptians severely pun- 
ished for their cruelties towards the Hebrews, it became ne- 
cessary that a savage and unfeeling tyrant should be placed 
on the throne. And the Pharaoh who then occupied it was 
eminently fitted to become the scourge of God. Even mira- 
cles could not subdue him for a long time, and there was 
abundant opportunity for the display of God's power. If the 
wonderful miracles that preceded and accompanied their ex- 
odus did not make an indelible impression on the Hebrew 
mind and heart, nothing could do it. But they have ever 
since been appealed to by that people as certain evidence of 
God's special favor towards their race, and have served to 
keep them distinct to this day from all other nations. 

If we follow down the path of Jewish history, from the 
earliest to the latest times, we shall be met continually with 
illustrations of this subject. When God thought proper to 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 339 

rescue the Hebrews from the twenty years' cruel oppression 
of Jabin, the Canaanite, he educated two women, Deborah, a 
judge and a prophetess, and Jael, the wife of Heber, and in- 
spired them with a heroism that seems to have been wanting 
in the men of that age, and led the first to the battle field, and 
the last to drive a nail through the head of Sisera, and thus 
deliver the land from bondage. How eminently fitted by na- 
ture and by discipline for the trying work assigned them 
were Elijah and Elisha ! And by what a series of hardships, 
privations, and dangers, was David, the shepherd boy, grad- 
ually conducted to the throne, and even made a type of the 
Saviour ! How different the education of his son Solomon ! 
but as wisely adapted to the peaceful yet magnificent scenes 
through which he was to pass. 

An unrighteous decree for the destruction of the Jews 
scattered through the one hundred and twenty-seven prov- 
inces of Persia and Medea, had been surreptitiously obtained 
from Ahasuerus, and their fate seemed inevitable. But God 
had long ago provided for their rescue, and prepared the ap- 
propriate instruments. Mordecai and Esther were educated 
and sent into the palace of the king for this very purpose ; 
the first, a stern old man, inflexible in his religious character ; 
and the last an amiable woman, of great personal beauty, 
who had obtained a strong influence over the king, and yet 
had not lost her attachment to her own people, nor become 
insensible to the moral obligations that came upon her from 
her exalted position. She therefore resolutely put her life in 
jeopardy, and thus saved herself and her people, and brought 
the avenging sword upon their persecutors. 

When the captivity of the Jews in Babylon had continued 
long enough to answer the divine purposes, Cyrus was placed 
on the throne of Persia and Medea, with a heart prepared to 



840 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

promote their return to Palestine. This was accomplished 
under Zerubbabel ; and when, after many years of trial, it 
became important to have the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt, and 
the population reformed from their idolatries and immoralities, 
then appeared Ezra and Nehemiah, whom God had been 
secretly educating for the difficult work ; and they carried 
it through only as men disciplined in such a school could 
do it. 

It will be unnecessary, before this audience, to show how 
perfectly adapted to his work was the Saviour of the world, 
although in truth it be the most striking illustration of my 
subject which the world has ever witnessed. But the facts 
are already in your memories ; and were they not, volumes, 
rather than a few paragraphs, would be requisite to elucidate 
the subject. 

For the same reasons, I need not dwell upon the history 
of the apostles ; and yet gladly would I linger here, espe- 
cially upon that of Paul. Had you seen him, a proud, tal- 
ented young man, in the "school of Gamaliel, intolerant in the 
extreme towards every thing connected with Christianity, 
standing by when Stephen was stoned, and encouraging his 
murderers, and afterwards rushing like a tiger towards Da- 
mascus, to seize the unoffending followers of Christ, who, all 
this time, could have imagined that such a school was the one 
best adapted to prepare him for the great work before him ? 
Yet it was just the experience he needed. His future work 
required talents of the first order, a boldness and perse- 
verance amounting almost to rashness, and such a conviction 
of the great truths of religion as could result only from per- 
sonal experience of their power. He who was to combat 
Jewish prejudices must know from experience what they 
were, and be familiar with the whole Jewish economy. He 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 341 

who was to teach and illustrate the doctrines of grace, in the 
midst of fiery opposition, must have been converted miracu- 
lously. His convictions of his own wickedness and the de- 
ceitfulness of his heart must have been intensely pungent, 
and his sense of deliverance by a crucified Saviour intensely 
vivid, or he never could set forth those truths justly and im- 
pressively. In short, now that we know the whole history of 
Paul, we see that his entire course, previous to conversion, 
was just the one best fitted to train him for the part God had 
assigned him. And yet, before his conversion, we should 
have wondered why God permitted such a furious persecutor 
to live and make havoc in the church. 

If we follow down the history of the church for three hun- 
dred years after Christ, we shall find evidence of the wonder- 
working providence of God in the ten terrible persecutions 
which were then experienced. By these onsets, two impor- 
tant objects were accomplished, which probably could have 
been secured in no other way. The first was the purification 
of the church, and the second the speedy publication of the 
gospel in almost every land. For those who were persecuted 
without mercy at home were scattered abroad every where, 
and they could not but speak the things which they had seen 
and heard. Living thus in jeopardy of life, and hunted from 
place to place, they grew rapidly in piety, and, by their holy 
lives, won over many to embrace the true faith. Nor were 
the instruments wanting to carry on these persecutions. God 
had only to take away his restraining influences from the 
emperors of Rome, and to worry and devour the virtuous and 
the holy was only acting out the desires of hearts naturally 
ferocious and cruel, and rendered doubly malignant and vile 
by long indulgence. Hence it was, that after these despots 
had been used to accomplish these important objects for the 
29* 



342 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

church, God turned upon them, and punished them terribly 
for their fiendish assaults upon the followers of Christ. 

After these protracted onsets upon the church came the 
hour of her prosperity, and Constantine proclaimed Chris- 
tianity to be the religion of the empire. But though Religion 
could flourish and spread when the powers of earth were 
arrayed against her, she could not endure success, and she 
sank into the embraces of the world, and an almost total 
eclipse came over her glories. For many a long century did 
the darkness deepen, until at last, when the punishment of 
apostasy and worldliness had been long and severe enough, 
God prepared other instruments for the revival of true reli- 
gion. He chose, as a leading agent in this work, an Augus- 
tinian monk ; or rather, he so ordered matters that this man, 
after receiving a thorough education, should choose a monas- 
tic life, and become a zealous advocate of Papacy, and a 
strict observer of its forms, in order that he might learn its 
corruptions, and how to expose its perversions. It was provi- 
dential, also, that Luther should come in contact with an in- 
famous vender of indulgences, that he might be roused to put 
his shoulder to the great work of the reformation. Around 
him there also sprang up other eminent men, admirably fitted 
for the various posts which must be occupied and sustained in 
such a long-drawn and bitter conflict. That contest is not 
indeed yet ended. But many a splendid triumph has been 
already witnessed over bigotry, intolerance, ignorance, and 
clerical corruption ; enough to insure final and glorious 
success. 

If we turn our attention away for a moment from affairs 
more strictly religious, we shall find in uninspired secular his- 
tory illustrations of my subject of no doubtful character. In 
ancient times, and before the introduction of the gospel, it 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 343 

seemed important that human wisdom and philosophy should 
have a fair opportunity to see how much they could do to re- 
form and elevate society without Christianity. Hence God 
laid the foundation of the Grecian states, and gave to Solon 
and Lycurgus a fair field for trying the experiment. It was 
tried most thoroughly ; and if severe discipline, elegant lit- 
erature, sagacious philosophy, and refinement of manners 
could have secured freedom and virtue in connection with 
polytheism, the work would have been accomplished in 
Greece. But her vaunted liberty was, after all, only the 
freedom of an aristocratic few, while the majority were the 
most abject slaves. And so it was with her literature and her 
arts. Though she has left many monuments of refinement 
and learning, yet the great mass of her inhabitants were bru- 
talized, trampled under foot by the few, degraded by immo- 
rality and superstition, and ignorant of the true God. And 
even the wisest of her philosophers has left us a fine comment 
on his theoretical theism, by directing, in his dying moments, 
a sacrifice to be made to iEsculapius. He has left us, too, his 
despairing and impressive conviction, that if God did not 
vouchsafe to give a revelation, vain would be every effort to 
reform and elevate the mass of men. In short, so well had 
God's providence adapted the agents and the circumstances, 
that the experiment never need be repeated, to show how 
utterly impossible it is for man to rise to an elevated condition 
of true liberty or virtue under the dominion of polytheism 
and of philosophy alone. 

We may not be able to understand all the reasons why 
God permitted so disastrous an eclipse to come over the world 
in what are called the dark ages ; but we can often see how 
wonderfully adapted were the agencies which he employed 
to relieve religion of its incubus, and open a new career for 



344 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

science and civilization. I have already referred to the lead- 
ing agents in the reformation from Popery. But there were 
other reformations and improvements that demanded and 
secured appropriate instruments. It is interesting to observe 
how the art of printing sprang up just at the right moment — 
at a time when the human mintl was waking up from its long 
slumber. But its advancement must have been arrested soon, 
had not some one discovered — what it is said was known 
much earlier in China, viz. — how to print upon wooden 
blocks. Who the individual was that first brought out this 
happy thought, or rather applied it experimentally, it may not 
be possible to decide. But it was so rapidly improved that 
the original inventor was forgotten, and at least three German 
cities contend for the honor. The main point, however, which 
I wish now to present before you is the fact that these dis- 
coveries were made just at that juncture in human affairs 
when they were indispensable to bring on a high state of 
civilization. 

In order to advance the same object, and others collateral 
with it, the time had now arrived when it was desirable that a 
new continent should be brought to light. But the great mass 
of men, even the highly enlightened, were ready to regard 
the suggestion that such a continent existed as a mere quix- 
otic dream. To breast this strong current of popular opinion 
and feeling, it needed most extraordinary qualifications. But 
they appeared in Columbus. So strong was the principle of 
faith in his mental constitution," that he trusted even in a false 
theory — I mean his notion that there must be a western con- 
tinent to counterbalance the eastern. He believed in this so 
firmly that he was borne through almost insuperable difficul- 
ties and dangers to an ultimate triumph — just as, in some 
parts of mathematics, an erroneous supposition leads to the 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 345 

truth. In vain did the courts of Genoa, Lisbon, and London 
reject his proposals. Ferdinand and Isabella gave him at last 
the desired aid. But in the superstitious fears and discour- 
agement of the sailors he had a still more formidable diffi- 
culty. Yet his forty years' nautical experience enabled him 
to triumph even here. The results of his success have even 
yet only begun to be developed. But the uses to which Prov- 
idence has already put this western continent are an earnest 
of the yet more important part it is destined to fulfil in work- 
ing out the destinies of the race. 

The manner in which progress in civilization, learning, 
morality, and religion has usually been made is by develop- 
ments made, first in one field and then in another, by individ- 
uals or communities fitted for the work. When, for instance, 
the period had arrived in which it was desirable that civiliza- 
tion should be carried into the inhospitable regions of Russia, 
Peter the Great appeared, possessed of the requisite qualifi- 
cations. Had he not been a fierce and unyielding tyrant, he 
never could have controlled the ferocity or overcome the 
prejudices of an ignorant people. But he must also be will- 
ing to take the place of a humble learner, or he never could 
have gone into the ship yards of Holland and England as a 
common carpenter and blacksmith, and even at home to 
make his own generals and admirals take precedence of him- 
self, while he was learning military and naval tactics. To 
expect, however, that such opposite qualities should be long 
exhibited by any man, and especially by one who was at the 
head of forty millions of people, with unlimited power, was 
absurd, unless some peculiar controlling influence was brought 
to bear upon him. Therefore it was that God gave such a 
power to the foundling girl Catharine, who could control the 
fiercest paroxysms of the tyrant. In this singular manner 



346 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

did Providence do more for the civilization of Northern Eu- 
rope in that one reign than centuries have accomplished in 
other lands. 

Through many a dark century the Christian church had 
forgotten the injunction of her risen Saviour, to " go into all 
the world and preach the gospel to every creature." But the 
eclaircissement of the truth by the reformation in the four- 
teenth century prepared the way for the revival of the mis- 
sionary spirit. It showed itself, indeed, at the firsfr, in the 
Romish church ; but it seemed rather a zeal for conversions 
to Papacy than to Christianity. Yet the example roused the 
Protestant world to engage in the work. And though it was 
too much for any one man to have the honor of being the 
prominent leader in such an enterprise, yet God prepared and 
brought forward at the right time a large number, who went 
forth, shoulder to shoulder, to this mighty conflict ; and as 
they have fallen successively, others have always been found 
fitted by nature and by grace to catch their mantles and urge 
forward the world's conversion. The work is indeed most 
arduous and difficult ; but Providence has found men emi- 
nently fitted for its successful prosecution. 

As the precepts of the Bible became more and better un- 
derstood, benevolent men were led to search out the various 
forms of human suffering, to lift up the dark curtain which 
self-interest, or arbitrary power, or bigotry and intolerance 
had covered over many a den of cruelty and wickedness, and 
show to the world how man had brutalized his fellow, and 

how he had, 

" Clothed in a little brief authority, 
Played such fantastic tricks before high Heaven 
As made the angels weep." 

With a martyr spirit, Howard went down into the infected 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 347 

dungeons of the prisoner, and carried there, what never 
before had visited him, the light of hope and Christian sym- 
pathy, along with such physical amelioration of his condition 
as was consistent with the proper objects of imprisonment 
and punishment. Buchanan went among the suttees and idol 
temples of India, and sketched so vividly their horrid rites as 
to arouse the Christian world to interpose the shield of pro- 
tection over the helpless victims, and to pour the light of the 
gospel into the hearts of their oppressors. Nay, he penetrated 
even the charnel house of the Romish Inquisition, and showed 
the world how much worse than heathenism a perverted Chris- 
tianity may become. 

Long had the abominations of the slave trade been un- 
heeded, and the groans of the victims of oppression smothered 
by the thick folds of cupidity and a perverted public opinion. 
But God's justice could not sleep forever ; and the time at 
length came when he raised up the fit instruments for en- 
lightening the public mind and arousing the public conscience. 
A leader among them was Wilberforce, who stood in the 
British Parliament, like a rock from which the angry waves 
of prejudice and passion were thrown back broken and dissi- 
pated. Defeated ten times, in that body, in his attempts to 
bring the arm of the government to crush this horrid traffic, 
he lived to see the eleventh effort, by his friend Pitt, success- 
ful. And since that day, the same Providence has provided 
other instruments, not less adapted to advance the cause of 
human liberty ; send it is easy to see that the days of this 
unrighteous system of oppression are numbered, and well 
nigh finished. 

Equally well adapted was Wilberforce for another impor- 
tant enterprise ; and that was, to vindicate the truths of evan- 
gelical religion before the higher classes of Great Britain, 



348 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

and to show their practical influence upon the life. In his 
own character, of beautiful simplicity and consistency, his 
contemporaries saw a refutation of the vile calumnies with 
which a flippant scepticism had assailed vital religion ; and, 
since his death, his Practical View of Religion, already trans- 
lated into most of the languages of Europe, and having passed 
through more than fifty editions in the English language, still 
renders experimental religion respectable among the higher 
classes of society, and doubtless proves the means of salva- 
tion to many. 

But no less important was it that the lower classes of soci- 
ety, in professedly Christian countries, should be enlightened 
and brought under the influence of the gospel. Hence God, 
by a very simple instrumentality, started a system which has 
already done much, and is destined to do much more, for 
the rising generation in all lands, especially for the poor and 
destitute. I refer to Sabbath schools, and to their humble 
founder, Robert Raikes. The thought that led him to collect 
the poor and the vicious for instruction on the Sabbath seemed 
probably to him an accidental circumstance ; nor could he 
have dreamed that that thought would prove a germ from 
which would spring and spread a tree whose fruit should be 
for the healing of all nations. But in God's plan the whole 
system lay spread out in far wider ramifications than have yet 
been developed to mortal vision. And yet how appropriate 
the instrumentality by which it was commenced ! 

In order that civilization should make much progress, it 
was necessary that all branches of learning should be devel- 
oped. And the bright names that shine, as stars of the first 
magnitude, along the path of literature and science, show 
how admirably fitted, by nature and by discipline, were the 
distinguished founders of the different branches of knowledge, 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 349 

and the great discoverers of nature's laws. Take, for an 
example, such a man as Sir Isaac Newton, of whom it was 
hardly exaggeration for the poet to say, — 

" Nature and nature's laws lay hid in night ; 
God said, ' Let Newton be/ and all was light." 

With equal propriety might we say the same of Linnaeus in 
natural history, and of Cuvier in comparative anatomy. In 
the same category might we place the name of Jonathan 
Edwards as the Coryphaeus of metaphysical theology. In 
his case, how interesting to observe the course of divine 
Providence ! In the science to which he devoted himself, it 
was not necessary, as in physical science, that there should 
be a costly array of instruments to work with. By having 
the Bible for his theology, and his own mental constitution as 
the basis of his metaphysics, it was as easy, perhaps easier, 
for Edwards to work out the difficult problems of liberty and 
necessity, the freedom of the will, free agency, and divine 
efficiency in the solitudes of a missionary life among the 
American Indians as in the universities of Europe. At any 
rate, those problems were so handled by the American divine 
as to lead such a man as Dr. Chalmers to say, " There is no 
European divine to whom I make such frequent appeals in 
my class room as I do to Edwards ; no book of human com- 
position which I more strenuously recommend than his Trea- 
tise on the Will, read by me, forty-seven years ago, w T ith a 
conviction that has never since faltered, and which has helped 
me, more than any other uninspired work, to find my way 
through all that might otherwise have proved baffling, and 
transcendental, and mysterious in the peculiarities of Cal- 
vinism. 

But society can never attain to a very advanced condition 
30 



350 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

unless means are provided for the thorough education of the 
female mind. Yet it was not till a comparatively late period 
that this truth began to be admitted and appreciated. Nay, 
through many a dark century did the opinion prevail — would 
I could say it has even now entirely disappeared — that 
woman was not capable of that discipline, enlargement, and 
vigor of mind which man* has exhibited, and therefore her 
education was comparatively of little consequence. Man first 
monopolized all the means of intellectual culture to himself; 
and then, because the neglected female mind did not manifest 
equal mental power and development as his own, he very 
sagaciously inferred its inferiority. To show the absurdity of 
such an unphilosophical inference, God has suffered, from 
time to time, such a woman to appear as Mary Somerville, 
the author of the Connection of the Physical Sciences ; and 
to give to the sex generally an opportunity to show what are 
their mental characteristics, he has, in recent times, raised 
up such women as the five Misses More, to open seminaries 
for the education of their sex, and to give to Hannah, the 
youngest, a power with the pen rarely equalled as a means 
of doing good among all classes and both sexes. Gladly 
would I linger to show how finely adapted she was by nature 
and by discipline for her important mission. But time will 
not permit. 

We may observe the same principles of divine Providence 
in bringing out discoveries in the arts as in the sciences. 
Neither the men who have made these discoveries nor their 
contemporaries have been fully aware of the part they were 
acting, or of the wide ultimate influence of their dimly-seen 
and imperfectly-developed conceptions ; nor did they imagine 
that Providence had any thing to do in the business. It 
seemed a small matter when the Marquis of Worcester, in 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 351 

1655, described his " admirable and most forcible way to 
drive up water by fire ; " yet it was the germ of the steam 
engine, which has so much changed almost the whole aspect 
of society. And when Savary threw his wine flask into the 
fire, how apparently accidental was it that he was led thereby 
to discover the mode of creating a vacuum by the condensa- 
tion of steam ! So, too, when the multitude on the wharf at 
New York were laughing at the first unsuccessful effort of 
Robert Fulton to work a steamboat, how much more easily 
might they have been led to believe that he was given up of 
Providence to infatuation than that he was a chosen agent to 
work out one of the greatest improvements of the age ! The 
discovery that takes precedence of all others in anatomy, 
that of the circulation of the blood, brought so much obloquy 
upon Harvey, and so diminished his practice as a physician, 
that he was prevented afterwards from publishing other dis- 
coveries. The physician who first tied an artery was hooted 
at. He who first used cantharides was imprisoned by the 
London College of Physicians. The more recent and highly 
important discovery of etherization, by one of our country- 
men, was made while its author was trying to perfect his 
favorite art of dentistry. Yet in all these cases there was an 
unseen Providence who gave these discoverers the right sort 
of abilities, and placed them in the appropriate circumstances 
for enucleating the happy thought. Nor does that Providence 
allow any discovery to come out before the right time, or to 
be delayed a moment too long. 

But, after all, the history of the English Puritans and 
Scotch Covenanters furnishes the most appropriate illustration 
of my subject which I can offer. Ever since man's exist- 
ence on the globe, he has had indefinite yearnings after civil 
and religious liberty ; and many a time has he attempted to 



352 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

realize these blessings by the most profuse sacrifices. But 
every where, both in ancient and modern times, had he failed 
of his object ; at least, the great mass of the community had 
always been in servitude. The time, however, was now 
come when this great problem might be solved — but not 
without great suffering and effort. God knew, though man 
did not, that the germ of civil liberty lay coiled up in the 
constitution of the Christian church. He therefore suffered 
many of his true worshippers in England and Scotland to 
experience a persecution from kings and hierarchies of two 
hundred years' duration — from the days of Wickliffe to those 
of Robinson. This awakened an intense desire for religious 
freedom in the bosoms of the persecuted. But it was neces- 
sary, to bring about the result, that they should be compelled 
to flee from their native country, and take refuge in Geneva. 
There, in the church of Farel and Calvin, they saw the salu- 
tary influence of a democratic form of government ; and 
when they returned to Great Britain, they could not but en- 
deavor to establish a church on the same foundation. They 
had not aimed or thought of a republican civil government. 
But they soon found that, if they would secure a church with- 
out a bishop, they must have a state without a king. The 
result was freedom in Scotland and the commonwealth in 
England. But when monarchy and hierarchy again tri- 
umphed, these men were driven once more into exile. They 
did not know the reason ; but the subsequent developments 
of Providence have shown that the object was to people this 
country with men of deep-toned piety, whose attachment to 
religious liberty would lead them to be stern advocates for 
civil freedom. They had already been the means of securing 
to the people of England all the liberty which their civil con- 
stitution contains at this day ; and now they were to accom- 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF TROVIDENCE. 353 

plish a mightier work, by laying the foundations of a wide 
empire which should prove a refuge for the oppressed of 
every land. True, at first that people must be tributary to 
the mother country. But after a time, the arm of Providence 
showed them a way to independence, and called into their 
service an extraordinary leader, as distinctly pointed out for 
their guide to freedom as Moses was to conduct the Hebrews 
to the promised land. O, could these Puritans and Pilgrims 
have seen the glorious results of their sacrifices and suffer- 
ings, how would the prospect have cheered them in the dark- 
est hour ! But they have seen it all long ere this ; and it has 
often swelled into rapture their song in heaven. 

But why should I go back into history, or abroad to other 
lands, for illustrations of my subject, when the place and the 
occasion furnish me with an example quite as striking as any 
that history can present, and to us of much deeper interest ? 
To pass by all others, whose presence we miss, but whose 
lives might well illustrate our subject, every thing around us 
to-day — the subdued greetings of friends, the starting tear, 
this vacant seat, these badges of mourning, ay, and yonder 
marble, too — reminds us that one is absent whose life has 
filled a large page in the book of Providence. Is absent, do 
I say ? Where can we turn our eyes without seeing her ? 
Is she not present in every one's thoughts — in every one's 
heart ? Nay, may she not be virtually present ? Do the 
blessed cease to be interested in the welfare of the human 
family because their home is in heaven ? Can it be that, 
wherever she is, she should not desire to be present ? And 
would not the God who gave her strength to do so much in 
this place for his glory gratify this desire also ? 

But if Miss Lyon be not here to-day, her works are ; and 
they show us impressively for what purpose Providence raised 
30* 



854 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

her up, and how well he adapted her for her work. Chron- 
ological dates and biographical details I leave to others ; but 
the great lessons of providential wisdom, and design, and 
goodness taught by her history I must not pass by. 

What, then, was the chief object or objects for which our 
lamented friend seemed specially adapted by nature and edu- 
cation ? Every one will doubtless answer, It was the promo- 
tion of female education. But this statement is too general ; 
for to a great extent her labors were specific. She was, 
indeed, an eminent teacher of the young, and this seems to 
me the first great object for which Providence fitted her. 
But there were some marked peculiarities in her teaching ; 
the most important of which was the predominance she gave 
to the truths of religion in all her instructions. The second 
great object of her life was the founding and management 
of a new and somewhat peculiar seminary. Let us now see 
what there was in her nature, and in the preparatory disci- 
pline through which she passed, that adapted her for the 
eminent success which she attained. 

And here I ought to acknowledge my indebtedness for 
many facts and suggestions to those ladies, well known them- 
selves as distinguished teachers, who still live, and were long 
associated with Miss Lyon as teachers and companions. 

But I may be allowed to add that it is no second-hand rep- 
resentation which I make, but one founded upon a personal 
and intimate acquaintance of more than thirty years, during 
which my house was frequently made her home. 

We will first consider Miss Lyon's physical adaptation to 
the work assigned her, 

God gave her a vigorous and well-balanced physical con- 
stitution. Her stature was at a medium ; the muscular 
powers were displayed in great strength and vigor ; the vital 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 355 

apparatus was very strong, so as to give a full development 
to the whole system, and impart great tenacity of life. The 
brain was largely developed, and in proper proportion to 
produce a symmetrical character. The nervous system was 
full, yet free from that morbid condition which in so many 
produces irritation, dejection, or unhealthy buoyancy of the 
spirits and irregular action of the mind. In short, all the 
essential corporeal powers were developed in harmonious 
proportion. You could not say that any of the marked tem- 
peraments were exhibited, but there was rather a blending of 
them all. 

Now,, just such a physical system seemed essential to the 
part in life for which this lady was destined. Many, indeed, 
have been distinguished as instructors of youth whose consti- 
tutions were frail, and whose shattered nerves thrilled and 
vibrated in every exigency. But Miss Lyon had another 
office besides teaching to execute, which demanded unshrink- 
ing nerves and great power of endurance. In building up a 
new seminary, not conformed in many respects to the pre- 
vailing opinions, she could not but meet many things most 
trying to persons of extreme sensibility, and needing an iron 
constitution to breast and overcome. 

We icill consider, secondly, Miss Lyon's intellectual adap- 
tation to the work assigned her. 

And it gives a just view of the character of her mind to 
say that it corresponded to that of her body ; that is, there 
was a full development of all the powers, with no undue pre- 
dominance to any one of them. It were easy to find individ- 
uals more distinguished by particular characteristics, but not 
easy to find one where the powers were more harmoniously 
balanced, and where, as a whole, the mind would operate 
with more energy and efficiency. She did, however, exhibit 



356 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

some mental characteristics, either original or acquired, more 
or less peculiar. It was, for example, the great features of 
a subject which her mind always seized upon first. And 
when she had got a clear conception of these, she took less 
interest in minute details ; or, rather, her mind seemed better 
adapted to master fundamental principles than to trace out 
minute differences. Just as the conqueror of a country does 
not think it necessary, after he has mastered all its strong- 
holds, to enter every habitation to see if some private door 
is not barred against him, so she felt confident of victory 
when she had been able to grasp and understand the princi- 
ples on which a subject rested. Her mind would work like 
a giant 'when tracing out the history of redemption with 
Edwards, or the analogies of nature to religion with Butler, 
or the great truths of theism with Chalmers ; but it would 
nod over the pages of the metaphysical quibbler, as if con- 
scious that it had a higher destiny. And yet this did not re- 
sult from an inability to descend to the details of a science, 
when necessary. Else how could she have so long and so 
successfully conducted in her school the manipulations of a 
chemical laboratory, or have kept her eye so keenly open to 
all the details of the new seminary, or even of ordinary in- 
struction, for so many years ? 

The inventive faculties were also very fully developed in 
our friend. It was not the creations of fancy merely, such as 
form the poet, but the power of finding means to accomplish 
important ends. Nor was it invention unbalanced by judg- 
ment, such as leads many to attempt schemes impracticable 
and quixotic. For rarely did she attempt any thing in which 
she did not succeed ; nor did she undertake it till her clear 
judgment told htr that it would succeed. Then it mattered 
little who or what opposed. At first she hesitated, especially 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 357 

when any plan was under consideration that would not be 
generally approved ; but when, upon careful examination, she 
saw clearly its practicability and importance, she nailed the 
colors to the mast ; and though the enemy's fire might be 
terrific, she stood calmly at her post, and usually saw her 
opposers lower their flag. She possessed in an eminent 
degree that most striking of all the characteristics of a great 
mind, viz., perseverance under difficulties. When thoroughly 
convinced that she had truth on her side, she did not fear to 
stand alone and act alone — patiently waiting for the hour 
when others would see the subject as she did. This was 
firmness, not obstinacy ; for no one was more open to convic- 
tion than she ; but her conversion must result from stronger 
arguments, not from fear or the authority of names. Had 
she not possessed this feature of character, Mount Holyoke 
Seminary never would have existed, at least not on its pres- 
ent plan. The peculiarity of its domestic arrangements, 
especially, was pronounced injudicious and impracticable by 
a large part even of the friends of female education, and 
made a subject of ridicule by the enemies of the institution. 
I once asked a judicious friend, who was opposed to this fea- 
ture, how long the experiment must be successfully tried 
before he would believe it practicable. Five years, said he. 
Before his death the plan had been in successful operation 
nearly twice that time ; and yet he was not convinced. It 
has now gone on prosperously for twelve years ; and never 
were the prospects of its continued success brighter than now. 
Like every thing human, it may be changed — as it could 
be without endangering the prosperity of the seminary. But 
its triumphant success for one third of a generation is a 
striking illustration of the far-reaching sagacity and accurate 
judgment of its originator. 



358 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

Besides this seminary, the most striking example of the 
inventive powers of our friend is that only volume which she 
has left us, — I mean the Missionary Offering, — called forth 
by an exigency in a cause which she dearly loved, and whose 
most striking characteristic is its missionary spirit. Yet it is, 
in fact, a well-sustained allegory, demanding for its composi- 
tion no mean powers of invention and imagination. 

Miss Lyon possessed also the power of concentrating the 
attention and enduring long-continued mental labor in an 
extraordinary degree. When once fairly engaged in any 
important subject, — literary, scientific, theological, or eco- 
nomical, — there seemed to be no irritated nerves or truant 
thoughts to intrude ; nor could the external world break up 
her almost mesmeric abstraction. 

This almost total absorption in a favorite subject did, 
indeed, operate sometimes to render her conversation less 
inviting, and even tedious, to others, because she dwelt upon 
a subject too long and too minutely for those who were less 
interested. I think this was one of her defects as a teacher ; 
for the best instruction consists in saying just enough about a 
subject to make it clear and impressive, while there is danger 
of saying so much as to confuse and mystify. But it must 
not be forgotten that teaching was only one of the great 
objects of our friend's life. And this power of concentra- 
tion and absorption was essential to accomplish the other 
grand objects of her existence. 

It has been also complained, and probably with reason, by 
those in feeble health, that her great power of physical and 
mental endurance led her to expect too much of her pupils. 
She tried, I know, to guard against this tendency, being well 
aware how natural it is to estimate the capabilities of others 
by our own. And it should also be known that it was not 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 359 

her design to attempt to educate those of feeble constitution 
and delicate health, though she did not object to others making 
the most possible of such greenhouse plants. But she aimed 
rather to provide for those who might be able to stand in the 
front rank in the great battle which learning and religion 
have to sustain with ignorance and wickedness. 

Another mental characteristic of our friend was her great 
power to control the minds of others. And it was done, too, 
without their suspecting it — nay, in opposition often to strong 
prejudice. Before you were aware, her well-woven net of 
argument was over you, and so soft were its silken meshes 
that you did not feel them. One reason was, that you soon 
learned that the fingers of love and knowledge had unitedly 
formed the web and woof of that net. You saw that she 
knew more than you did about the subject ; that she had 
thrown her whole soul into it ; that in urging it upon you, she 
was actuated by benevolent motives, and was anxious for 
your good ; and that it was hazardous for you to resist so 
much light and love. And thus it was that many a refractory 
pupil was subdued, and many an individual brought to aid a 
cause to which he was before indifferent or opposed. 

Finally, I must not omit to mention her great mental energy 
and invincible perseverance. That energy was a quiet power, 
but you saw that it had giant strength. It might fail of suc- 
cess to-day ; but in that case, it calmly waited till to-morrow. 
Nay, a score of failures seemed only to rouse the inventive 
faculty to devise new modes of operation ; nor would the 
story of the ant that fell backward sixty-nine times in attempt- 
ing to climb a wall, and succeeded only upon the seventieth 
trial, be an exaggerated representation of her perseverance. 
Had she lacked this energy and perseverance, she might have 
been distinguished in something else, but she never would 



360 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

have been the founder of Mount Holyoke Female Semi- 
nary. 

But I hasten, thirdly, to speak of her religious adaptation 
to the work assigned her. 

And it is in her religious character, and there alone, that 
we shall find the secret and the powerful spring of all the 
efforts of her life which she would wish to have remembered. 
But I approach this part of her character with a kind of awe, 
as if I were on holy ground, and were attempting to lay open 
that which she would wish never revealed. In her ordinary 
intercourse, so full was she of suggestions and plans on the 
subject of education, and of her new seminary, that you 
would not suspect how deep and pure was the fountain of 
piety in her heart, nor that from thence the waters flowed in 
which all her plans and efforts were baptized and devoted to 
God. But as, accidentally, for the last thirty years, the mo- 
tives of her actions have been brought to light, I have been 
every year more deeply impressed with their Christian disin- 
terestedness, and with the entireness of her consecration to 
God. Without a knowledge of this fact, a stranger would 
mistake for selfishness the earnestness and exclusiveness with 
which she often urged the interests of this seminary. But in 
the light of this knowledge, the apparent selfishness is trans- 
muted into sacred Christian love. Her whole life, indeed, 
for many years past, has seemed to me to be only a bright 
example of missionary devotedness and missionary labor. I 
have never met with the individual who seemed to me more 
ready to sacrifice even life in a good cause than she was ; 
and had that sacrifice been necessary for securing the estab- 
lishment of her favorite seminary, cheerfully and without a 
moment's hesitation, do I believe, she would have laid down 
her life. I would, indeed, by no means represent her as an 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 361 

example of Christian perfection. I could not do so 'great 
injustice to her own convictions. But since her death, I have 
looked back over the whole of my long acquaintance with 
her, in almost every variety of circumstance, to see if I could 
recollect an instance in which she spoke of any individual in 
such a way as to indicate feelings not perfectly Christian, or 
if I could discover any lurkings of inordinate worldly ambi- 
tion, or traces of sinful pride, or envy, or undue excitement, 
or disposition to shrink from duty, or of unwillingness to 
make any sacrifices which God demanded ; and I confess 
that the tablet of memory furnishes not a single example. 
What I considered errors of judgment I can indeed remember, 
but not any moral obliquity in feeling or action. They doubt- 
less existed ; but it needed nicer moral vision than I possess 
to discover them. 

I ought to add, that this eminence of Christian character 
was founded upon a clear apprehension of biblical principles. 
She thoroughly understood and cordially embraced the doc- 
trines of the Puritans, just as they lie in their massive strength 
in the Bible — not as they often come forth, alloyed and 
weakened, from the moulds of a self-confident philosophy. 
To study these truths was her delight. To explain them to 
her pupils was one of her most successful efforts as a teacher. 
Would that I could present on canvas the picture of Miss 
Lyon, as it lies in my memory, when she was engaged on 
the Sabbath in the study of Christian ti»uth. I have frequently 
seen individuals in the somnambulic and mesmeric state, but 
none of them apparently more unconscious to external scenes 
that she was when thus absorbed in the contemplation of 
divine truth. Would that she had left us some delineation of 
her views and feelings in these biblical trances, and still more 
of those exercises of soul in her nearer approaches to God, 
31 



362 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

when away from every eye but the divine. But she had a 
strong aversion to religious diaries, and was probably uncon- 
scious of any thing in her experience that would benefit the 
world, if left on record. 

There were two religious principles which exerted an over- 
mastering influence upon Miss Lyon's character. One was a 
sense of personal responsibility ; the other, trust in an over- 
ruling Providence. As the Saviour, when he went up to 
Jerusalem for the last time, with all his sufferings full in 
view, advanced before his disciples, as if in haste to suffer, so 
did she, when duty called, never wait for others, but was ever 
ready to precede them, and measure the amount of her sac- 
rifices, donations, and efforts by her sense of duty, rather 
than by the example of others. And it was this sense of per- 
sonal responsibility which she urged always upon her pupils, 
and with great success. So strong, too, was her faith in a 
special Providence, that delay and discomfiture in the execu- 
tion of her favorite plans produced little or no discourage- 
ment, but led her merely to inquire more carefully whether 
there was not something wrong in her or her plans which 
occasioned the delay ; and having done all she could, she 
would wait long and cheerfully for the divine manifestation. 
And so often had she witnessed interpositions in her behalf 
almost miraculous, that her faith might often be seen steady 
and buoyant when that of others had yielded to appalling dif- 
ficulties and dangers. • 

As the result of such principles and such piety, the stan- 
dard of Miss Lyon's personal efforts and sacrifices in every 
good cause was so high as to put to shame the measure of 
duty which most Christians adopt. I am assured, on the best 
authority, that the amount of money which she devoted to the 
cause of benevolence was more than double all which she 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 363 

expended for herself, excepting her board. What a bright 
example for imitation ! and what blessed results should we 
witness if one in ten among Christians were to come up to 
such a standard ! Some have sneered at her rigid economy 
as if it were parsimonious and unbecoming. But in the fact 
just stated we see the motive of her economy. And let those 
who would censure wait till their standard of beneficence is 
as high as hers before they condemn the only means by 
which she reached such a standard. 

Another blessed result of her elevated piety was the almost 
constant presence, in the schools which she taught, of that 
special divine influence which brings about the conversion of 
souls. She lived, it is said, to witness nearly thirty special 
revivals of religion in all her life, and not less than eleven in 
the twelve years' life of her new seminary — many of them 
surpassing, in the comparative number of converts, almost 
any revivals which I have ever heard of in any other com- 
munity. Indeed, it was almost an uninterrupted display of 
divine converting power. And yet so busy and enthusiastic 
in literary instruction were Miss Lyon and the admirable 
band of teachers which she knew how to gather around her, 
that you would hardly have thought of the existence of that 
deep under current of piety, which seemed to flow from the 
river of God, and to refresh the whole landscape. But the 
current was always there, deep and strong ; and thence came 
the power that kept the windows of heaven always open. 

We will inquire, finally, into the adaptation of the disci- 
pline through which Miss Lyon passed to fit her for her work. 

And by discipline I mean all the circumstances of her 
birth and education. We have seen that God gave her a 
sound mind in a sound body. But without cultivation, they 
would have been only as metal in the ore, or marble in the 



364 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

quarry. Therefore God placed her in circumstances appro- 
priate to the desired discipline. He brought her into exist- 
ence in the alpine regions of Massachusetts, where the pure 
water from the rock, and the atmosphere uncontaminated by 
pestilential miasms, send health bounding through the veins ; 
where the deep ravines, the broad mountain slopes, and the 
vast prospects that stretch away almost inimitably over a sea 
of mountains elevate and expand the soul, and fit it for large 
and ennobling plans and purposes. There, too, away from 
the vices of a dense population, a religious influence predom- 
inates, and the manners, habits, and piety are in an unsophis- 
ticated state. In those plain and humble dwellings which city 
opulence might suppose the abodes of poverty, you will, for 
the most part, find the answer to Agar's prayer, Give ?ne 
neither 'poverty nor riches. The parents of Miss Lyon were 
just in that state of moderate competence (not of deep pov- 
erty, as has been represented) which enabled them to make 
their daughter comfortable and happy at home with industry 
and economy, but which could not provide for her education 
abroad. But they possessed one thing of far higher value, 
and that was devoted piety ; and their prayers and labors for 
their daughter were rewarded by her conversion. That 
happy home she has vividly described in her Missionary 
Offering — the dying scene of the beloved father, and " the 
extraordinary prayers of the sorrowing mother " during 
" that first cold winter of widowhood." Ah, it may be that 
the father was taken away in order to excite those prayers, 
and that they were necessary in God's plans to the future 
eminent usefulness of the daughter ; and that, on the heav- 
enly Mount Zion, they are now rejoicing in the retrospect of 
God's providence. 

The marked preeminence of the young Mary soon raised 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 365 

up for her benefactors who aided her, though she had to 
depend mainly upon her own exertions. After a time she 
joined the school of the Rev. Joseph Emerson, at By field. 
That gentleman's views and plans of female education seem 
to have been a good deal in advance of his times, and doubt- 
less his instructions contributed largely to give the right 
direction to Mary's mind. But at that school, twenty-eight 
years ago, she came under the influence of an individual — 
an assistant teacher then, and afterwards through life an inti- 
mate friend — who probably had more to do in the formation 
of her character, and especially in fitting her to become the 
founder of a new institution, than any other person — I had 
almost said, than all others. That lady was Miss Z. O. Grant ; 
concerning whom, as she is still living, propriety forbids me 
to say all that I could wish. But I may say that under no 
influence could Miss Lyon have come better adapted to pre- 
pare her for her work than that of one so fitted by nature, by 
education, and by grace to be a pioneer and a guide in im- 
proving and elevating the system of female education. It was 
during their connection at Byfield two years, at Derry, New 
Hampshire, five years, and an equal period at Ipswich, that 
the leading principles on which the Mount Holyoke Seminary 
was founded were suggested, discussed, and prayed over, and, 
what is more important, were experimentally tested — so far, 
at least, as the mode of instruction was concerned. 

Thus it appears that the whole course of Miss Lyon's life, 
and all the circumstances in which she was placed, were only 
a continued school of discipline for the work assigned her. 
She could not have seen the bearing of events at the time 
they happened ; but, from the standpoint which we occupy, 
we can see how almost every minute and often seemingly 
casual circumstance in her history was important to the final 
31* 



365 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE, 

and full development. The guiding hand of God's provi- 
dence is almost as distinct as when it went before the Israel- 
ites in their journeyings in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire 
by night. This will be the more obvious if we contemplate 
for a moment the manner in which the two grand leading 
objects of her life were accomplished. 

Upon her character as a teacher I need not dwell, because 
it is so generally known and appreciated. Not less than three 
thousand pupils have passed under the moulding influence of 
her mind ; and it was not an influence to be easily forgotten 
or shaken off. It came from the depths of the soul, and went 
into the depths of the soul, unless resisted by a perverseness 
rarely found among respectable young ladies. It has been 
objected, indeed, to her discipline, that it was too stern and 
uncompromising ; and that many of the minor graces and 
elegant accomplishments, which give a charm to female love- 
liness, were too much neglected. She may have erred in this 
respect ; for she had become disgusted with the too frequent 
substitution, in female education, of artificial for unsophisti- 
cated manners, and of superficial and showy accomplishments 
for substantial and practically useful acquisitions. She never 
felt called to study or to teach the technicalities and formali- 
ties of fashionable life ; and she placed in nearly the same 
category some accomplishments which are generally regarded 
with much favor — such as painting, embroidery, music, and 
the like ; or, rather, she transferred these subjects from the 
first rank, which they had long occupied, to the last in impor- 
tance. Whether the system of manners which she taught 
and exhibited would be popular in the refined circles of Paris, 
or London, or New York, I know not. But I do know that 
she inculcated and exemplified that fundamental principle of 
all good Christian manners, that we should treat all men with 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 367 

kindness, because we feel kindly towards them in our hearts. 
Such manners were always acted out, as her numerous 
friends can testify, in her truly hospitable home in this place. 
But if any parents felt, dissatisfied with this Christian educa- 
tion and Christian politeness, and preferred a fashionable 
education for their daughters, Miss Lyon did not aspire to be 
their teacher, nor felt emulous of the laurels that might be 
won in such a field. It was enough for her if she could send 
forth pupils with minds well disciplined and stored with 
knowledge, with physical constitutions invigorated by exer- 
cise, temperance, and the practice of all other important 
hygienic laws, and with hearts glowing with a desire to do 
good. And when we recollect that nearly three thousand 
such, scattered over the whole face of the globe, still survive, 
what an impression do we get of the mighty work which this 
single woman has accomplished, and of the vast influence she 
is at this moment exerting upon the human family ! * 

* I am indebted to Mrs. Banister (Miss Z. O. Grant) for the following 
statement of the fundamental principles on which, in her opinion, Miss 
Lyon's superior skill in teaching was founded. It is interesting to observe 
the thoroughly Christian character of these principles. 

" Some of Miss Lyon's excellences as an educator consisted, — 

" In her knowledge and love of the character and government of God. 

" In her knowledge of the human mind — its capacities; its destiny; of 
the effects of habits, and the way to form them aright ; of the relation of 
the human mind to its Creator and to its fellow-creatures, and of the obliga- 
tions growing out of those relations. 

" In her entire and cordial reception of the Bible as a revelation of God 
to man ; in her knowledge and love of this blessed book. 

" In having the first and second table of the moral law written on her 
heart ; in her peculiar facility in leading others to an intellectual under- 
standing of this law. 

" In her deep appreciation of the gospel as opening a way for the salva- 
tion of the lost ; her living faith in all its truths — especially in Him who is 
the truth. 



368 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

But there was another work, still more difficult to execute, 
and probably more important in its effects, which she accom- 
plished ; and that was, to found, or rather create, the Mount 
Holyoke Seminary. A minute history of that undertaking, 
from its inception to its completion, would show how wonder- 
fully Miss Lyon and all concerned in it were prepared and 
led along by an overruling Providence. But justice to my 
subject and to the principal agents will not allow me to pass 
it entirely over. 

The prominent features of the Mount Holyoke Female 
Seminary, as it was ultimately established, and by which it 
differed from any other in New England, were the following. 
I do not mean that in no other institution have they been 
introduced partially ; but here alone have they been fully 
carried out and brought into harmonious action. 

1. This seminary is permanently endowed. 

2. From its foundation to its topstone, it was carried for- 
ward by an appeal to Christian benevolence ; and the donors 
were not encouraged to expect any other reward than that 
which springs from doing good. Many judicious friends did 
not believe it possible to procure the means on such exclu- 
sively benevolent principles. But it was done triumphantly. 

3. Hence, thirdly, no one connected with the seminary as 

" In her glowing benevolence to all for whom Christ died. 

" In her burning zeal to do all in her power towards extending the knowl- 
edge of the Redeemer to every creature. 

" In her understanding and heartfelt sense of the necessity of bringing 
great and unalterable truths in contact with the human mind in a way suited 
to produce their legitimate effects. 

"in a practical belief that what ought to be done can be done. 

" In a deep sense that, without God's blessing, all will be in vain. 

" In an abiding reliance on God, and a cheerful expectation of his bless- 
ing." 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 369 

trustee, teacher, steward, or benefactor has any pecuniary 
interest in it, except that some receive a small fixed salary. 

4. Hence, fourthly, the charges to the pupils could be put 
at a very low rate — not more than one third of the expense 
usually incurred at our best female seminaries where a simi- 
lar course of study is gone through. 

5. Hence, fifthly, instruction in doctrinal and practical 
evangelical religion could be made, as it ever has been, the 
most prominent feature of the institution, without any influ- 
ence from that worldly policy which, under the name of 
excluding sectarianism, shuts out all religion of any practical 
value. 

6. All connected with the school constitute but a single 
family. 

7. The domestic affairs are all managed by the members. 
The germ of this seminary may probably be found in a 

remark made by Rev. Joseph Emerson to Miss Grant (now 
Mrs. Banister) in 1823, when advising her to take charge of 
the Adams Female Academy in Derry, New Hampshire : 
w If you can put into operation," said he, " a permanent 
school on right principles, you may well afford to give up 
your life whenever you have done it." It was the hope of 
realizing this thought that induced that lady to take charge of 
the Adams school, where for five years she labored, with 
Miss Lyon, to accomplish this object, and another five years 
in the same school removed to Ipswich. It was not, however, 
till they had been two years at Ipswich — that is, in 1830 — 
that Miss Lyon could believe it possible, however desirable, 
to obtain means for a permanent institution. At length, how- 
ever, she saw its importance ; and the two ladies labored 
together for a year or two to find a permanent residence for 
their school, which they intended should be adapted for 



370 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

bringing the higher and middle classes together. But at this 
time the health of Miss Grant failed, and she went -away. 
Before she was again able to resume her place, all hopes of 
bringing about this specific object were abandoned, and all 
associations, whether called committees or trustees, were dis- 
solved ; though Miss Grant still clung, as with a death grasp, 
to her favorite idea of permanency. 

But though Miss Lyon thus yielded to this providential 
blasting of her hopes, yet as she mused and prayed over the 
subject, her interest deepened ; and this probably was the 
object of Providence in the disappointment ; for success de- 
manded a spirit ready for any labor and any sacrifice. Sev- 
eral new projects occupied her attention, and she became 
more and more impressed with the desire of laboring for the 
middle and more indigent classes of society. This led her to 
devise every possible mode of lessening the expenses of the 
new seminary ; and among the rest, to the plan of having the 
domestic affairs managed by the inmates of the school. She 
at last made up her mind to leave her present place as teacher 
at Ipswich, and go forth and see whether Providence would 
open any way for accomplishing her favorite object ; although 
for a time it was doubtful whether she or Miss Grant, whom 
she still consulted, should take this course. Indeed, she 
seemed as yet to be very much in the dark as to the way in 
which she was to go, and did not expect such results as she 
lived to witness. In a letter to Miss Grant, dated March 1, 
1833, she thus remarks : — 

" For myself, if I should separate from you, I have no defi- 
nite plan ; but my thoughts, feelings, and judgment are 
turned towards the middle classes of society. For this class 
I want to labor, and for this class I consider myself rather 
peculiarly fitted to labor. To this class in society would I 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 371 

devote directly all the remainder of my strength, (God per- 
mitting ;) not to the higher classes, not to the poorer classes. 
The middle class contains the main springs and main wheels 
which are to move the world. Whatever field I should oc- 
cupy, it must be a humble, laborious work. How I could get 
a footing sufficiently firm for my feet to rest upon the re- 
mainder of my days, where my hands could work, I know 
not. But by wandering about a year or two, perhaps Provi- 
dence might open the door. I should seek for nothing per- 
manent after my decease as to the location of my labors ; but 
I should consider it desirable that I should occupy but one 
more field, that I should make but one more remove, till I 
remove into my grave." 

What a beautiful development of Christian character does 
this extract present! What a waiting upon God, and confi- 
dence in his providence ! How and where she could get a 
foothold to labor she knew not ; " but by wandering about a 
year or two, perhaps Providence might open the door." How 
does such faith remind us of that other servant of God, who, 
when he was called to go out into a place which he should 
after receive for an inheritance, obeyed ; and he went out, 
not knowing whither he went. What humility and readiness 
to labor is here shown ! " Whatever field I should occupy, it 
must be a humble and laborious work." Yet what holy 
sagacity is exhibited in strongly desiring to labor for the mid- 
dle classes, because " they are the main springs and main 
wheels to move the world " ! That is, she wished to labor 
where her efforts would do the most good. And finally, what 
perfect freedom from the ambition of having her name at- 
tached to some great institution, by which many have sup- 
posed she was actuated in her severe labors ! " I should seek 
for nothing permanent after my decease as to the location of 



372 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

my labors." How evident that such a state of mind was just 
the one that was needed for the herculean task of founding 
this institution ! and how obviously it was the natural result of 
that long and severe discipline through which she had passed ! 
Could we have looked forward to the results which are be- 
fore us to-day, it would indeed have been a scene of high 
moral sublimity to have seen this female going forth on this 
great enterprise almost single-handed. I well remember the 
first meeting, in this part of Massachusetts, of some eight or 
ten friends of education, which was held at my house to hear 
her statements. We saw the object, indeed, to be a noble 
one, and therefore we could not but wish it God speed ; and 
the address to the public, which that meeting called forth, 
signed by John Todd, Joseph Penney, and Roswell Hawks, 
did, indeed, express confidence in its ultimate success ; but I 
fear, that had there not been faith somewhere else stronger 
than ours, the walls of this seminary would not yet have 
risen. Nevertheless, she who was willing to wait one or two 
years to see if some door would not open, could discover a 
bow of promise where others saw only a black cloud. 
Steadily did she move onward in the work, cheered by the 
slightest indication of success, and undiscouraged by ridicule, 
hostility, and discomfiture. And it was not mere indifference 
which she had to meet ; but respectable periodicals appeared, 
charged with sarcasm and enmity to her plans. So ungener- 
ous did some of these attacks seem, that I volunteered a de- 
fence, and consulted her as to its publication. I found he\r 
entirely unruffled by these attacks, and without any personal 
feeling in respect to a vindication. She did not object to the 
spirit or style of my defence, and I left it in her hands, to be 
published, if she thought it best. But that is the last I ever 
heard or saw of it. 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 373 

I need not further detail the progress of this work to its 
completion, because it is too familiar to most of those who 
hear me. Jt was, indeed, a long, and sometimes apparently 
a doubtful struggle ; and faith less firm than that of the pre- 
siding genius of this enterprise would often have given out. 
But remarkable wisdom seemed to have been given her in the 
formation of her plans, and in the selection of agents and 
guardians. She lived to see not less than sixty thousand dol- 
lars contributed by the Christian public ; yonder noble edifice 
erected, with its accommodations for two hundred pupils ; the 
debts of the institution all liquidated ; and the whole plan in 
successful operation for twelve years ; during which sixteen 
hundred young ladies enjoyed its privileges, and eleven re- 
vivals of religion stamped the seal of God's approbation «ipon 
the enterprise and the institution. How much larger these 
results than the anticipations of its founder when she said, 
" I should seek for nothing permanent after my decease " ! 
and what a lesson of encouragement to all those who are 
waiting in patient faith and hope to know what God will have 
them do ! 

Such was Miss Lyon ; such the discipline through which 
she was made to pass to fit her for her work ; and such the 
magnificent results. We are amazed when we look back at 
the amount and magnitude of her labors. Very few females 
have done so much for the world while they lived, or have 
left so rich a legacy when they died. Nor is the fair picture 
marred by dark stains, save those of microscopic littleness. 
From the days of her childhood to the time of her death, all 
her physical, intellectual, and moral powers were concentrated 
upon some useful and noble object, while selfishness and self- 
gratification seem never to have stood at all in the way, or to 
have retarded the fervid wheels of benevolence. I cannot, 
32 



374 A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 

therefore, believe that it is the partiality of personal friend- 
ship which leads me to place Miss Lyon among the most re- 
markable women of her generation. Her history, too, shows 
the guiding hand of special Providence almost as strikingly as 
the miraculous history of Abraham, of Moses, of Elijah, or 
of Paul. O, it tells us all how blessed it is to trust Providence 
implicitly when we are trying to do good, though the darkness 
be so thick around us that we cannot see forward one hand's 
breadth, and bids us advance with as confident a step as if 
all were light before us. 

This picture, too, is a complete one. Her life was neither 
too long nor too short. She died at the right time, with her 
armor on and yet bright. But her friends saw that, strong as 
her**constitution naturally was, it was giving way under such 
severe and protracted labor, and the infirmities of declining 
years beginning to show themselves even at the age of fifty- 
two. But with her Saviour she could say, " I have finished 
the work which Thou (God) gavest me to do." All her im- 
portant plans had been carried into successful operation, and 
tested by long experiment ; and the institution was in the 
right condition to be committed to other hands. She had also 
of late been rapidly ripening for another sphere of labor. 
One of her friends, who had been more intimately connected 
with her for several years past than any other, when at a dis- 
tance she heard of her sickness, felt confident that it would 
be unto death ; for she had known how, for some months 
previous, her friend had been feeding daily on manna, and 
pluming her wings for her upward flight. Severe, therefore, 
as her removal seemed, when first announced, it happened 
just at the right time, and I cannot wish to call her back. 
But I do feel, and many who hear me, I doubt not, feel it too, 
— I do feel a strong desire to be borne upward, on an angel's 



A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK OF PROVIDENCE. 375 

wing, to the Mount Zion where she now dwells, and to hear 
her describe, in the glowing language of heaven, the wonders 
of Providence, as manifested in her own earthly course, as 
they now appear in the bright transparencies of heaven. Yet 
further, I long to hear her describe the still wider plans she 
is now devising and executing for the good of the universe 
and the glory of God ; and how admirably her earthly disci- 
pline fitted her for a nobler field of labor above ; so that those 
providences which appear to us to have been consummated on 
earth, were in fact only a necessary means of adapting her 
to a work which shall fill and delight all her powers through- 
out eternal ages. Gladly, too, would I listen to her intensely 
earnest inquiries respecting her beloved seminary and friends 
on earth, and learn whether, in some way unknown to us, 
she may not be still able to administer to their welfare. O, 
how sweet, too, would it be, could we listen to that rapturous 
song of praise, which ever and anon she would pour forth to 
her Redeemer, as his glories strike her eye, or his past kind- 
ness touches a chord of gratitude in her heart. 

But alas ! how vain are all such aspirations ! And yet, my 
Christian friends, if we are faithful to God and duty as she 
was, in a very few days all this intercourse and communion 
will be a reality. Some of us may not, indeed, be able to 
sound so lofty a note of praise as our glorified friend, but our 
song and our communion shall nevertheless be the music and 
the intercourse of heaven ; and that will be enough. 



WASTE OF MIND. 



What more, or better, on the subject of female education, 
can be said, than has been presented by the distinguished 
gentlemen who have occupied this place on former anniver- 
sary occasions ? This was my involuntary inquiry, when 
invited to address this audience to-day ; and it would have 
decided me to decline the honor, had not another inquiry been 
started : Why is it necessary that these addresses should be 
confined to the subject of female education ? Why should 
not the speaker be allowed the same wide field in which to 
choose his subject, as is given to those who address young 
men in our colleges, at their annual commencements ? I 
adopt the opinion that such ought to be the case, and shall act 
accordingly on the present occasion, leaving it to my succes- 
sors to follow my example or not, as they shall prefer. 

The subject which I propose to bring before you is, in its 
nature, of melancholy interest. Nevertheless, it is not easy 
to excite human sympathy deeply in respect to it, although it 
unfolds a wider and darker history of human wrongs than 
that accursed traffic in flesh and blood which has justly 
aroused the Christian world for its extermination. Slavery 
and the slave trade are, indeed, a part of my subject ; yet 
only a small part. For I shall speak of the slavery of the 
immortal mind — of its subjection, whether voluntary or in- 

(376) . 



WASTE OF MIND. 377 

voluntary, to any of the thousand petty tyrants that, from the 
beginning, have lorded it over the human soul, and made 
merchandise of its lofty powers, and crushed its expanding 
energies. The wrongs which the human family have en- 
dured from slavery, technically so called, terrible as they have 
been, sink into comparative insignificance when we take this 
wider view of the subject, and behold, as I shall endeavor to 
show, not a few millions merely, but earth's almost entire and 
vast population, deprived of rights infinitely more precious 
than personal liberty — the right and the power of cultivat- 
ing the faculties by which alone they are distinguished from 
the brutes that perish. Here is a chapter on oppression and 
slavery which has never yet been written. Indeed, what 
arithmetic can tell us the value of the rights which have thus 
been wrested from man, or the amount of the losses and suf- 
ferings he has endured ! And yet, as I said above, unless we 
bring physical sufferings into the account, there is little sensi- 
bility among men to the subject. It will not need an armed 
police here to-day to defend me from violence while I discuss 
it. But on the other hand, I have reason to fear that the 
strong array of urbanity, and attention, and benevolence, and 
patience, which I know form a strong body guard around this 
audience, will hardly be able to defend them against drowsi- 
ness, or nervousness, as I proceed. 

But I am dealing too much in enigmas. I denominate my 
subject The Waste of Mind. It is not necessary, before 
this audience, to enter into an argument to show that, unless 
the intellectual powers are cultivated, man scarcely rises 
above the brutes ; nay, in many respects, is their inferior. 
Nor will it be any more doubted that the Creator endowed us 
with these powers, with the precise design of having them 
cultivated ; and of course, that he surrounded us with circum- 
32* 



378 WASTE OF MIND. 

stances favorable to their cultivation. If, then, individuals, or 
communities, or nations do not cultivate their minds, either 
through their own neglect or the fault of others, there is so 
much dead loss to the world, so much waste of what God 
placed within its reach, and whose value can be estimated 
neither by gold nor by numbers. This is one variety of what 
I call the ivaste of mind. 

Again, let us suppose an individual or a community to sub- 
ject their powers to some sort of discipline, but to devote 
them to things . useless or hurtful. It is surely the mildest 
language we can use, to call such perversion of the noblest 
gifts and acquisitions a waste of mind. And this is, in fact, 
the most common mode in which men incur the charge of 
squandering away their noble powers and attainments. If 
their newly- developed faculties promote neither their own 
happiness nor that of others, nor advance the cause of sound 
learning, nor the cause of religion, — if employed only to 
aid in pampering gross bodily appetites, or in accomplishing 
the destruction of their fellow-men, the pearl of Cleopatra, 
dissolved to grace the feast to Mark Antony, is but a faint 
emblem of this infinitely greater sacrifice. 

In these two ways, then, I maintain that the waste of mind 
always has been, and still is, immense. And to establish and 
illustrate this position, I propose to present the subject in 
three aspects : — 

1. Historically. 

2. Geographically. 

3. Individually. 

1. Historically. — To enable you justly to appreciate this 
first part of my argument, it is not necessary to go into a de- 
tailed history of nations, but only to seize upon some of its 
leading features. As a preliminary, I assert that there is no 



WASTE OF MIND. 379 

important difference between the members of the human 
family, when placed in the same circumstances, in the facility 
with which they acquire useful knowledge, and adopt the 
arts and rules of civilized life. There is, indeed, a great 
diversity in these respects between individuals ; but I am here 
comparing nations, or tribes, with one another. And if their 
susceptibilities of improvement are nearly equal, then, since 
Providence furnished them in the earlier stages of society 
with nearly equal means of improvement, it is fair to take 
those who are the most advanced as a standard by which to 
estimate the deficiencies of the others. Let us take for an 
example our progenitors of Great Britain. They were not, 
indeed, quite as low on the scale of intellect as some other 
heathen nations. But the horrid system of Druidism, which 
there prevailed, which could be satisfied with nothing but 
human victims for sacrifice, must have been like the blast of 
death to every thing pure, and lovely, and noble. They who 
could submit century after century to such a system of gloomy 
superstition, must have been about as much degraded as hu- 
man nature can be. Nor did the Saxon conquest, which 
brought in little more than swarms of pirates, with a religion 
almost as debasing as Druidism, afford much alleviation to the 
gloomy picture. Nevertheless, in the amalgamated character 
which resulted, there were certain elements, which have, in 
the course of centuries, brought out the noblest development 
of human nature which the world has ever witnessed. What 
a vast storehouse of cultivated intellect has the Anglo-Saxon 
race been, all over the world, for the last three hundred years ! 
What brilliant discoveries, what immense acquisitions, what 
mighty conquests, have they made in art, science, and litera- 
ture ! And as a consequence, what vast accessions have 
they made to the means of human usefulness and happiness ! 



380 WASTE OF MIND. 

what streams of knowledge and of salvation are at this mo- 
ment flowing out from the little island of Britain, over more 
than half the globe ! and what almost countless millions feel 
the giant strength of her arm ! 

But is there any thing peculiar in Anglo-Saxon blood, 
which enables that race to rise higher in intellect and art than 
any other ? Surely not ; for even now other races compete 
with them. The present state of that race, then, is only a 
fair index of what the whole world is capable of becoming 
— nay, of what it might have been, almost from the begin- 
ning, if it had not perverted the gifts of Providence. Indeed, 
even among the Anglo-Saxon race, there is, at this moment, 
an immense waste of mind, as I shall attempt to show in the 
sequel ; so that even their brilliant career of knowledge and 
civilization is far inferior to what the whole world might have 
exhibited in past ages, if man had not been recreant to his 
powers and privileges. 

But from a picture so bright and fascinating, turn back 
your eye, and see what the world has actually been during 
the six thousand years of her history. Read that history ; 
and what is the prominent idea which remains upon your 
mind ? It will be war — merciless, heart-withering war ! 
Read again ; and retain the next strongest impression, and I 
know you will say the second time — nay, the third time — that 
the clangor of war drowns every thing else. But consult the 
history once more, to ascertain what have been the employ- 
ments of man during the intervals when they have paused 
amid their conflicts, and you will find the crafty and ambi- 
tious few engaged in intrigues with one another, and in rivet- 
ing more firmly the yoke of oppression upon the necks of the 
ignorant and abused multitude. These are the items, I say, 
that constitute ninety-nine hundredths of the history of man. 



WASTE OF MIND. 381 

Small, indeed, has been the space occupied by the deeds of 
the noble few who have tried to stem the general current, and 
to cultivate the arts of peace — to promote the progress of 
science and civilization, of pure liberty, and the elevation of 
the mass of mankind, by education and religion. Though 
their history deserves folios, and will live when that of politi- 
cal intrigues and of wars shall be forgotten, yet if given only 
in a proportionate space, it will be scarcely visible. For the 
business of man, thus far, has been to persecute and destroy 
his fellows, instead of blessing them ; to waste and pervert 
his powers on unworthy or w T icked objects, instead of using 
them for the good of the world. That, I say, has been his 
business ; while benevolent effort has been only the infrequent 
exception. 

I shall doubtless be referred to Greece and Rome, as suffi- 
cient examples to redeem the ancient world from the heavy 
charge of an almost universal waste of mind. These repub- 
lics are, indeed, the brightest spots on the picture. But seen 
through the optics of Christianity, their light is mostly a lurid 
glare. With all their boasted wisdom, the inhabitants were 
idolaters ; they were slaveholders ; they were engaged in 
almost perpetual wars ; and Rome, especially, in those most 
unjustifiable of all wars, — wars of conquest They had 
more light than other nations ; but they employed it all for 
the subjugation and destruction of their fellow-men, instead 
.of their salvation. A few among them did, indeed, cultivate 
the arts of peace, and would gladly have blessed mankind. 
But those who controlled the public affairs suffered the people 
to grow up in ignorance, and made use of the discoveries and 
reputation of their philosophers and sages to aggrandize the 
nation, or a favored few, while the great mass, with much 
seeming liberty, were in fact under the worst kind of bondage, 



382 WASTE OF MIND. 

Strike from the annals of these republics the history of their 
wars, foreign and domestic, scarce one of which can bear the 
light of Christianity, — strike from them the history of their 
domestic oppressions, and add to them what never has been 
written, the history of female degradation there, and of the 
insufferable despotism which those exercised over their slaves 
at home, who made the forum ring with their vaunts of lib- 
erty, — reduce and correct Grecian and Roman history thus, 
and you will find little in it which the benevolence of Chris- 
tianity would not denominate waste of mind. 

I shall probably be thought most sadly, if not criminally, 
deficient in reverence for the classic ground of antiquity, by 
this strong condemnation of the general course of conduct 
pursued by these ancient republics. Where shall we find 
oratory more overwhelming, rhetoric more correct, poetry 
more beautiful, or philosophy more sublime, than in the writ- 
ings transmitted from the sages of antiquity, and still made 
the basis of instruction in our higher schools of learning ? 
Instead of undervaluing these productions, I would appeal to 
them as a ground of encouragement to all literary men ; for 
the whole history of the world scarcely furnishes such an 
example of success, and such extensive influence exerted by 
a few literary men. But, on the other hand, it should not be 
forgotten, that these writings are held in such high estimation 
not because they contain a correct philosophy, correct moral 
or religious principles, or even correct rules of oratory. 
Excepting as models of fine writing, and some rhetorical and 
mathematical principles, and some true common sense max- 
ims, we are obliged to unlearn all which they contain ; and 
were not the languages in which they were written eminently 
classic, — that is, chosen as the medium of thought among 
the learned, — there can be no doubt but these ancient authors 



WASTE OF MIND. 383 

would long since have been forgotten, or, rather, replaced by- 
authors better adapted to modern literature, modern science, 
and modern religion. Nor should it be forgotten, that while 
a meritorious few, in ancient times, did not waste their powers 
and acquisitions, but devoted them to the good of mankind, 
scarcely any opportunity was afforded to the common people 
to discipline and enlarge their minds ; and thus an immense 
amount of talent was smothered in embryo. But what I com- 
plain of most of all is, that nearly all the talent which was 
elicited, and most of the discipline which was enjoyed, were 
turned into the war channel ; and what should have been con- 
secrated to the good of mankind was devoted to their de- 
struction. 

Here again I shall probably come into collision with the 
views of some who entertain a high regard for the distin- 
guished warriors of Greece and Rome, and who would rec- 
ommend them as examples to be followed by Christian youth, 
and who look with a favorable eye upon wars in which such 
men gathered their brightest lauaels. I will not, indeed, take 
the ground that all wars are forbidden by the spirit and letter 
of the gospel ; but I shall utter the almost unanimous opinion 
of the Protestant world, when I say that offensive wars are 
the very antipodes of the Bible. Now, how very few of the 
wars of Greece and Rome were not of this description ! 
Some of the earlier contests — as that w T hen Greece was 
invaded by Xerxes — were merely defensive. But as soon as 
these nations, especially Rome, became sufficiently powerful, 
the aggrandizement of the empire was unblushingly offered 
as a sufficient reason for carrying fire and sword through 
unsubjugated regions, however remote. A petty insult, 
offered by a neighboring state, was deemed cause enough for 
a bloody Peloponnesian war. Now, with the Bible in my 



384 WASTE OF MIND. 

hand, I boldly declare, that the talents and energies employed 
in such wars as these are worse than wasted, and that the 
leaders in them deserve execration instead of imitation. I 
speak not of the blood and pecuniary treasure expended in 
such wars. These may be, and have been, calculated ; and 
they form a frightful aggregate. But to sacrifice upon the 
altar of hate and unhallowed ambition a vast and incalculable 
amount of immortal mind — to offer up there the intellectual 
hopes and glory of a nation — should receive the name of 
sacrilege rather than waste. And yet, what myriads of her 
noblest minds did Greece and Rome cast into the insatiable 
maw of the Moloch of war ! If we can forgive it in a heathen 
nation, how ought it to be execrated in a land professing 
Christianity ! 

It will indeed be said that we ought not to regard alt the 
intellect which is sacrificed, even in wars of ambition and 
conquest, as lost or wasted. For such wars wake up the pub- 
lic mind to effort ; and we accordingly find that seasons of 
great exigency are periods^ when remarkable developments 
are made of individual talent. 

There is certainly truth in this statement. But who are 
the men thus awakened by war to extraordinary efforts ? 
Only that small number who are leaders in the struggle. 
And what effect is produced upon the community? Their 
means of improvement are exhausted, and they are obliged to 
struggle for a long time with the poverty brought on them by 
the expenses of the war. It requires a quarter of a century 
of prosperous peace to recover from the withering influence 
of a single protracted war. Hence the aggregate of loss to 
the community at large far outstrips the aggregate of gain to 
individuals, even if we look only to mental improvement ; 
and hence the energies expended in such wars are worse than 



WASTE OF MIND. 885 

wasted. And the same is true of all wars. Though they 
may promote the interests of a favored few, and even bring 
out a development of individual talent, they effectually extin- 
guish the intellectual vitality of the great majority, whose 
elevation is of far more importance to the world than that of 
an aristocratic few. But it may be stated as a general fact, 
that wars tend to degrade the many and exalt the few. 
Thus the leaders soon learn to regard the life of a common 
man w T ith as much indifference as they would that of a beast 
of burden. In France, during the reign of Bonaparte, con- 
scripts were styled by the leaders raw materials, and food for 
powder ; and the question was discussed, how long a conscript 
would last. Some said thirty-three, and others thirty-six 
months ; and Napoleon once remarked, that he had a revenue 
of three hundred thousand men. How different the spirit of 
Christianity, which almost forgets the trifling distinctions of 
worldly ambition, in looking at that infinitely more important 
distinction which every man may claim — the possession of 
an immortal mind ! Hence it is, that while Christianity does 
not overlook the few, it aims chiefly to instruct and elevate 
the many. 

I am led by this remark to say in this connection, that the 
introduction of Christianity into the world affords us the most 
remarkable example of success in the cultivation of the hu- 
man faculties which history can furnish. The gospel had a 
higher object in view than to promote intellectual cultivation, 
and the few obscure men by whom it was first promulgated 
were mostly uneducated. And yet that College of Fishermen 
has done more to advance the cause of public education than 
all other colleges and universities combined. And this has 
been done by the principle just alluded to, viz., by extending 
its instructions and regards to the whole human family. All 
33 



386 WASTE OF MIND. 

other systems for doing good to mankind have been exclusive 
in their regards ; and while they have benefited a few, they 
have left the multitude to grovel in ignorance and wretched- 
ness. And so long have the latter been treated as if they 
were but one step removed from the brutes, that, by a curious 
principle of human nature, they have come to believe it, and 
to hug the chains by which they are bound down to the dust. 
But when the Bible has convinced the most degraded human 
being that he is immortal, and capable of boundless progress 
in knowledge and happiness, it has taken the greatest bar out 
of the way of his advancement in human literature and sci- 
ence. Accordingly we find, that in those countries where the 
Bible has been most widely circulated, and its influence felt, 
popular education has achieved its greatest triumphs — - as in 
Greenland, Prussia, Great Britain, and North America. But 
so soon as we enter those regions where the Bible is unknown, 
or restricted in its circulation, we have entered also the do- 
mains of popular ignorance and degradation ; even though it 
may be a land of colleges and universities, and boasting not 
a few prodigies of genius and learning. He therefore who 
means that his name shall stand high among the pioneers and 
promoters of public education, must connect it with the Bible. 
That is the only Archimedean lever by which he can raise 
the world. 

2. Geographically . — In entering upon the second division 
of the subject, where I am to treat it geographically, it would 
greatly aid our conceptions could I call in an experienced 
missionary as a witness. Many such, however, have given us 
their testimony, and to that I shall appeal. Let us suppose 
such a one, of Anglo-Saxon origin, to go forth on a tour of 
exploration, to form an estimate, not only of the moral, but 
the intellectual condition of the world. As he quits our 



WASTE OF MIND. 387 

shores, probably forever, he almost forgets our many defects 
and crying sins, when he recollects how many salutary influ- 
ences are here at work ; how the Bible finds a place in almost 
every family ; how the school house is seen at almost every 
corner ; how thickly the select school, the academy, and the 
college are scattered over our soil ; and how, by these and 
other means, knowledge is carried to the meanest hovel, and 
elevates and dignifies its poorest inmate. He crosses the At- 
lantic, and in exploring the fatherland, is no less — nay, in 
some respects, is more gratified, and thanks God that he be- 
longs to the Anglo-Saxon race. He visits the continent, and 
as he wanders through Prussia, Sweden, and some of the 
German states, and some of the countries of Switzerland, he 
begins to fancy that wherever he meets with a Caucasian 
physiognomy, he shall find intelligence and freedom. He 
enters France, and while he surveys the splendid monuments 
of the Louvre, the Garden of Plants, and a thousand other 
repositories of art and science in the capital of that empire, 
he seems to have reached the emporium of knowledge, and 
can hardly imagine that he is to meet with deep degradation 
and ignorance in such a nation. But as he wanders over the 
streets and lanes of that city, and especially through the De- 
partments, he is amazed to find, beneath such a splendid ex- 
terior, so much that is dark and disgusting, so much of igno- 
rance and infidelity among the mass of the population. But 
when he learns that the Bible is in a great measure withheld 
from circulation, he sees an adequate cause for all the igno- 
rance, corruption, and infidelity. And when he traverses 
Spain, Portugal, and Italy, and sees how much deeper is the 
cloud of ignorance and wickedness which broods over those 
nations, and how much more sedulously the Bible is excluded, 
lie finds full confirmation of his conclusion that it is this book, 



388 WASTE OF MIND. 

rather than a Caucasian physiognomy, which brings light and 
liberty, as well as salvation. Among the teeming millions on 
the banks of the Danube, he finds the same truth illustrated ; 
and the degraded serfs of Russia's vast plains confirm his 
impressions. In short, he finds that where the Bible is a pro- 
hibited or scarcely known book, there the common man is 
left unenlightened and undisciplined, and an incalculable 
amount of wasted and perverted mind is the result. 

But though we find so much to deplore in the mental con- 
dition of Catholic Europe, and much also in many parts of 
Protestant Europe, still, in all those countries there does exist 
a great amount of mental activity. Amid much that is sad- 
dening to the missionary's spirit, there is much to cheer and 
inspire with hope for the future. It is not till he enters the 
Oriental dominions of Mohammedanism, that he has. any just 
conceptions of what is meant by an utter waste and perver- 
sion of mind. The noble features of the Caucasian race do 
indeed meet him under the turban of the Turk, the cap of the 
Persian, in the sun-burned complexion of the Arab, even in 
the savage aspect of the Koord and the Tartar, and especially 
in the elegant countenance of the Circassian and the Geor- 
gian. But he is amazed to witness what a dreadful stagnation 
of mind pervades all these nations. It is not utter barbarism 
and destitution of all intelligence, but that strange state of the 
human soul, when there is just light enough to make it feel its 
own importance, and excite the idea that it has reached the 
acme of knowledge, and that others, especially those of an- 
other religion, can furnish no additional light. In short, it is 
just such a state of mind as the Koran is calculated to pro- 
duce, and which its author meant it to produce. Its spirit is 
well illustrated in the syllogism by which the Caliph Omar 
consigned the famous Alexandrian library, where was gath- 



WASTE OF MIND. 389 

ered most of the literature of antiquity, to the use of the 
ccfmmon soldiers for cooking their food. " If these books," 
said he, " are opposed to the Koran, they ought to be de- 
stroyed ; if they agree with the Koran, they are unnecessary, 
and may therefore be burned." That is the spirit which 
chimes in admirably with the demands of despotism, and 
which in fact keeps at this moment one hundred millions of 
Asia and Africa in deep and almost hopeless political and in- 
tellectual bondage. 

But the missionary on his tour of observation has yet to 
meet with examples of human ignorance, prejudice, and deg- 
radation still more revolting to the benevolent heart He en- 
ters the self-styled u Celestial Empire " of South-eastern Asia, 
and encounters the self-sufficiency and dogmatism of the 
Mongolian race., still more insufferable than that of the Cau- 
casian followers of the false prophet. In China, almost every 
thing is perfect; in view of the native, it is perfect wisdom, 
perfect intelligence, perfect freedom, and perfect happiness ; 
in the eye of the missionary, perfect folly, perfect ignorance 
and self-conceit, perfect bondage to prejudice and custom, and 
perfect wretchedness to the soul of Christian benevolence. 
At any rate., the intellect of those almost countless millions, 
which, if properly cultivated, might send a blaze of light all 
over the globe, is now shut up in a nutshell ; and woe be to 
the individual who ventures to look upon the outside. Strange, 
that no one of the vast population, which from generation to 
generation has swarmed in that empire, should ever have ven- 
tured a step beyond his predecessors, and that the highest 
ambition of those who might have filled the world with their 
literary and scientific glory has been to fill it with bohea and 
young hyson. 

The Chinese mind, however, is by no means in as degraded 
33* 



390 WASTE OF MIND. 

a state as that of some other nations. The wide and popu- 
lous region of Hindostan and Japan, Farther India, and espe- 
cially of Australasia and Polynesia, as well as the almost 
entire continent of Africa, exhibits an utter and almost unal- 
leviated waste of mind. Of all the animals inhabiting those 
regions, man is doubtless the farthest below what his Cre- 
ator intended him to be ; and, I had almost said, probably he 
is the lowest on the scale of intellect. There is no part of 
the world which the civilized- man cannot penetrate, in spite 
of the fiercest and strongest wild beasts. But there are many 
regions which he has never been able to explore, because 
the untamed savage is more dangerous than beasts of prey. 
This fact is a fine comment upon those Utopian theories 
which represent the savage state as more desirable than the 
civilized. Those same beings whose cultivation might make 
not only the region which they inhabit a paradise, but shed 
blessings on other lands, are now the most degraded and dis- 
gusting objects which the earth contains, and the terror of 
civilized man, and even of one another. Yet this is the con- 
dition of almost the whole of the two wide continents of Africa 
and Australasia, and of vast regions in Asia. What a terrific 
waste of mind the picture exhibits ! 

In all the regions we have now examined beyond the limits 
of Christianity, there is one feature which I ought not to pass 
unnoticed on this occasion. In all Christian countries, we 
find woman brought into free companionship, if not equality, 
with man. Unrestrained by any thing but propriety and reli- 
gion, she goes abroad to enjoy the beauties of nature, and to 
mingle freely in society, of which, indeed, she constitutes the 
chief life and ornament. But as soon as we enter the domin- 
ions of the false prophet, she is shut out from all society save 
that of her own sex and of her tyrannical husband, or rather 



WASTE OF MIND. 391 

master ; or if we meet her, it is only as a walking mummy. 
Not even in her own house can she be seen, though in the 
presence of her lord ; and to inquire of him concerning her 
welfare, or that of her children, is an unpardonable breach 
of etiquette. And the reason of this contemptuous and bar- 
barous exclusion and neglect, the traveller is gravely in- 
formed, is, that woman has no soul. Well might the traveller 
retort upon the ignorant Mussulman that such an opinion 
could be entertained only by the man who has no soul. It is, 
indeed, one of the strongest marks of the grovelling and das- 
tardly spirit of Mohammedanism and paganism that they 
degrade and abuse woman because she is feeble and defence- 
less. There is no meanness so great as his who takes advan- 
tage of the power which Providence gave him to protect the 
weak and confiding in order to enslave them. Yet, aside 
from the influence of Christianity, this has been a character- 
istic of human nature ; and woman has been the uncomplain- 
ing victim in all ages. The oppression has been the more 
severe in proportion as man has been farther removed from 
a civilized state. It is less in Turkey and Persia than in 
China, where females are sometimes seen yoked to the 
plough and the harrow. Still deeper is the degradation in 
Hindostan, where the widow must either be burned on the 
funeral pile or by a public opinion more terrible than literal 
flames. And yet more intolerable do we find the female 
condition in Australasia and Polynesia, in some of whose 
islands the first addresses woman receives from her future 
husband consist in being levelled to the ground by a club; 
next she is beaten till sense and life are almost gone, and 
then dragged over the rough ground to his bark hut. And, 
as we might expect, it is said that such a beginning of the 
matrimonial connection is a fair sample of its character 
through life. 



392 WASTE OF MIND. 

Excepting the southern portion of our own continent, 
where are no bright lines to relieve the gloomy picture, we 
have now accompanied the missionary over the entire globe ; 
and though, to his mind, the spiritual condition of our race 
may seem the most degraded and hopeless, yet their intel- 
lectual state is hardly less distressing. Few, and narrow, and 
far between are the oases that smile on the wide mental 
waste. Out of Europe and the northern part of our own 
continent, the eye searches almost in vain for a green spot to 
rest upon. And when we come to take a nearer view even 
of the brightest spots, we shall find that the light falls on 
these only in fitful and scattered rays, illuminating but a small 
portion of the surface. To take this nearer view will consti- 
tute the third part of the subject, where I propose to examine 
it individually. Under this head, I wish to point out some 
of the employments and habits of individuals and classes of 
men which either tend to check the progress of intellect, or 
exert no influence, or a bad influence, upon society — for in 
all these ways waste of mental power is the result. And it 
ought never to be forgotten that Providence intended that all 
the energies of the human soul, in their most cultivated state, 
should be devoted to useful and worthy objects, and that they 
cannot, without guilt, be expended upon those injurious to 
society or to individuals, or which are of doubtful utility. 

In entering upon the catalogue of pursuits injurious to 
society, one of the first on the list, which will immediately 
occur to every person, is the manufacture and sale of intoxi- 
cating drinks. A few years since, I should have been com- 
pelled to enter into a formal argument to convince even a 
respectable audience that such employments are injurious. 
But thanks to divine mercy, which has wrought so wondrous 
a revolution of public opinion, this is no longer necessary. 



WASTE OF MIND. 393 

In theory, at least, most men now entertain correct views on 
this subject. Yet it should not be forgotten that, as Hudibras 
expresses it, — 

" A man convinced against his will 
Is of the same opinion still. " 

For it cannot be doubted that there are many such conver- 
sions among those who join the general cry against alcohol. 
And the future historian of temperance will probably be com- 
pelled to say of many such as Monsieur Paradin has said of 
the ladies in the fourteenth century, when the monk Thomas 
Connecte preached with great zeal and power against their 
lofty head dresses. " The women," says he, " that, like snails 
in a fright, had drawn in their horns, thrust them out again 
as soon as the danger was over." It ought, also, to be re- 
membered that, even now, no less than twelve thousand per- 
sons are directly engaged all the time in the manufacture of 
intoxicating drinks in the United States, — or, at least, such 
was the case two years ago, — and ten times as many a part 
of their time. It cannot be doubted that at least as -great a 
proportion of the inhabitants of Europe, and in wine countries 
a much larger one, is devoted to this business ; so that, in this 
country and Europe, millions are worse than wasting their 
energies in this execrable employment. 

I cannot, in conscience, avoid placing in the same category 
the cultivation and manufacture of a poisonous plant, whose 
narcotic and exhilarating qualities make it a general favorite, 
in spite of the Counterblast of King James, the decrees of 
popes and emperors, and the yet more powerful attacks of 
physicians, clergymen, and scientific men in our own day. 
Rarely will you find the individual addicted to its use who 
will not confess the habit to be a useless and filthy one ; and 



394 WASTE OF MIND. 

yet appetite triumphs over his convictions, and he is made a 
slave for life. The consequence is, that the demand for this 
weed all over the world is immense — no less than twenty 
millions of dollars being annually expended for it in this 
country. And to its preparation thousands, and even mil- 
lions, of immortal minds devote all their powers, instead of 
consecrating them to the advancement of knowledge and the 
happiness of man. But I am sorry to say that, so extensive 
is the habit of using this intoxicating drug, that I fear I shall 
have but little sympathy in its condemnation, and that I shall 
be regarded as too ascetic for this narcotic-loving age. 

Shall I now proceed a step farther, and reckon among the 
hurtful, or at least useless, articles of cultivation and manu- 
facture, two other plants ranked by physicians among the 
narcotics and stimulants, yet reckoned almost indispensable 
by half the inhabitants of the globe as beverages to brace up 
the nerves in the morning, and to chase away fatigue and the 
headache in the evening? If they are useless, — if Provi- 
dence has provided a better beverage to our hands, — the 
waste of mind is truly incalculable involved in their prepara- 
tion ; for how many millions does it occupy ! But I forbear ; 
for I tread here upon delicate ground, and come into collision 
with customs and prejudices too formidable for me to grap- 
ple with on an occasion like the present, when I would give 
pleasure rather than pain. I do not fear, indeed, that even 
a strong condemnation of these articles would give pain to 
the members of this institution ; for so well satisfied are they 
with the pure nectar of nature, that they lay no tax upon 
China or the West Indies for their morning and evening bev- 
erage.* But I trust that both they and myself, contented 

* I ought to say that the young ladies are not required to refrain from tea 
and coffee ; but the fact is that very little is used. 



WASTE OF MIND. 395 

with the personal benefits we derive from our aqueous sym- 
pathies, will exercise a very liberal charity towards those who 
in this respect cannot come up to our standard. If we can- 
not agree that there is a waste of mind in employing millions 
of men to prepare these fascinating decoctions, all reasonable 
Christian men can agree as to a multitude of other employ- 
ments, which consume unnecessarily and wickedly the time 
and the talents of the human family. 

We shall all agree that this is done on a wide scale by 
luxurious living — by pampering an artificial and fastidious 
appetite. I think I may safely pronounce that system of 
living luxurious which indulges the appetite beyond what will 
give the most perfect development and enjoyment to the mind 
and the body. No man who is not strongly Epicurean in his 
habits can object to this principle. And yet who does not 
know how grossly and widely it is violated the world over ? 
The wants of nature are few and simple ; and, until we ac- 
quire a morbid appetite, that simplicity affords even more 
gustatory enjoyment than the costliest viands of pampered 
luxury. But how early are we learned to crave factitious 
and stimulating compounds ! and how soon do we come to 
regard them as indispensable ! Hence human ingenuity is 
taxed to the utmost to meet the demands of a vitiated and 
fastidious appetite ; and the culinary art becomes so compli- 
cated as to need an encyclopaedia to explain it, and a seven 
years' apprenticeship to learn it. In short, the whole time 
and physical and intellectual energies of three fourths of the 
human race are devoted, at this moment, to cultivating, pre- 
paring, and compounding food for the body. Is it possible 
that such was the intention of Providence, in endowing man 
with so many noble faculties ? Was it meant that the great 
business of life should be to gratify the palate ? Why, then, 



396 WASTE OF MIND. 

was man made superior to the brutes, if, with his exalted 
powers, he can accomplish no more than the brutes ? O, no 
— those powers were given us to be employed upon noble 
objects. We have departed from nature, and given to our 
animal and inferior constitution so exalted a regard that the 
intellect, the immortal part, has become its servant. Man 
can be healthier and happier, if he will substitute simplicity 
for compound cookery, and a natural appetite for a vitiated 
palate. 

And, on this occasion, I ought not to forget that the evils 
of this artificial state of things fall most heavily upon woman. 
Among the great mass of the community, she is expected to 
take the responsibility of culinary manipulations ; and, indeed, 
eminent skill in this department is generally thought to be the 
perfection of her education. Almost the whole of her time 
must be devoted to the preparation of delicacies for the table ; 
and it is only the shreds and patches of life that she can devote 
to the cultivation of her mind. Gladly would she introduce 
more simplicity and temperance at her domestic board — not 
that she might escape responsibility and care, but that she 
might store her mind with a richer fund of knowledge, and 
thus furnish her guests with something to feast the intellect 
and the heart, as well as the palate. But tyrannical custom 
and tyrannical man bind her down in hopeless servitude to 
morbid appetite. Her husband frowns upon any diminution 
of the usual variety and delicacy at the table ; and then, to 
reward her for her compliance with his wishes, he gravely 
pronounces her the weaker vessel, and becomes convinced of 
her inferiority to himself in intellect. Verily I believe that, 
if ever there comes a millennium of learning, along with a 
millennium of religion, woman will obtain some relief from 
her culinary thraldom. Then, and not till then, can the ques- 



WASTE OF MIND. 397 

tion be fairly discussed and decided which forms a standing 
topic in the college, the academy, and the lyceum — whether 
she be inferior to man in intellectual power. 

I have already alluded to war as eminently hostile to men- 
tal improvement. Probably no custom of society has been 
more so ; and consequently it is chargeable with a vast waste 
of intellect. It exerts this pernicious influence in part by 
destroying the lives of many who might be the intellectual 
ornaments of their country ; for the highest and most enter- 
prising minds are most apt to be drawn into the vortex of 
vice, because they love its powerful excitement. The wars 
of Julius Caesar destroyed not less than two millions ; those 
of Alexander of Macedon, as many ; those of Napoleon, twice 
as many. Nor can it be doubted that all the wars which have 
blasted the globe have swept from its surface as many human 
beings as now inhabit it. Again, war inevitably produces a 
state of things most unfavorable to the advancement of knowl- 
edge. Literature and science can flourish only amid the calm 
and security of peace. The war spirit awakens too much 
excitement, and brings into too powerful action the ferocious 
passions, to allow of the cultivation of the intellect. The 
public mind becomes a stormy sea, ingulfing every thing 
which cannot live in a tempest. Finally, the great pecuniary 
expenses of war, which fall most heavily upon the middling 
and poorer classes, deprive them in a great measure, and for 
a long time, of the leisure and money necessary for extend- 
ing the blessings of education through the community. The 
agricultural and manufacturing interests of a country are left 
by war in a deranged state, and a heavy public debt is usually 
entailed upon the nation ; and to pay this debt, and restore 
the business of the country to a healthy condition, demand the 
34 



398 WASTE OF MIND. 

time and strenuous labors of the citizens. A few facts may 
more strikingly illustrate this point. 

There is, perhaps, no part of the world where a more 
efficient system of general education is in operation than in 
the State of New York. In 1830, with a population of one 
million nine hundred and eighteen thousand six hundred and 
eighteen, she expended one million one hundred and twenty 
thousand dollars for common schools and academies, where 
nearly all of her half million of children and youth were in a 
course of education. To provide the same means of instruc- 
tion for the seventeen millions of the United States, in 1840, 
would cost ten millions of dollars ; and to provide the same 
for the twenty-five millions of Great Britain would need fifteen 
millions ; and for the eight hundred millions of the entire 
globe it would require four hundred and seventy millions of 
dollars* Now, let us compare these sums with the expenses 
of war. 

The revolutionary war of this country with Great Britain 
cost our government six hundred millions, while the individual 
losses by the citizens of both countries must have been many 
times as great. Suppose it the same, and here we have ex- 
pended on the American side, in seven years, money enough 
to provide the present population of the whole country with 
instruction like that enjoyed in New York for one hundred 
years, and the population of Great Britain for eighty years. 
The last war with Great Britain cost our government fifty 
millions ; and, on the same principle as above stated, enough 
money was spent to afford similar instruction to both countries 
for ten years, although the war lasted but two and a half 
years. A single war with Bonaparte cost Great Britain five 
thousand two hundred and fifteen millions of dollars — suffi- 
cient to afford the means of instruction to all her population 



WASTE OF MIND. 399 

for three hundred and fifty years, and to give the same means 
to all the world for eleven years. In 1835, the national debt 
of Great Britain, incurred for war purposes, amounted to 
three thousand eight hundred and ninety millions of dollars. 
The interest on this is one hundred and forty-two millions, 
and would furnish her inhabitants with the means of educa- 
tion for ten years ; that is, she pays a yearly interest that 
would do this. The daily expenses of a man-of-war, when 
in service, are about fifteen hundred dollars, or more than 
half a million for a year. Nineteen such ships would of 
course cost as much as to educate all the children and youth 
in the United States. Ten such ships, to say nothing of the 
sum requisite for their construction, would require a pecuniary 
outlay as great as the income of all the benevolent societies 
in Great Britain and the United States, which in 1840 was 
five million one hundred and thirteen thousand four hundred 
and twenty-two dollars. 

The average expense of the Florida war, carried on with 
only a few hundred Indians in the swamps of that country, 
has been from two to five millions, from 1836 to 1840 — a 
sum nearly equal to that collected, with vast labor, as the 
fruit of Christian benevolence, among the forty millions of 
Great Britain and the United States. 

But the expenses of war are not confined to the period 
during which the war lasts ; for it is the common maxim of 
rulers, in time of peace to prepare for war. The sum paid 
for this purpose by the United States from 1791 to 1832, a 
period of forty-one years, was seven hundred and seventy- 
seven millions, or nineteen millions annually. This was 
twelve times more than all the other expenses of the govern- 
ment during the same period, and would give instruction to 
all the children of the United States for twice that number of 



400 WASTE OF MIND. 

years. In 1837 and 1838, we paid twenty-six millions an- 
nually for the same purpose. The expenses of the English 
government, from the same cause, from 1816 to 1837, a 
period of twenty-one years of peace, was two thousand and 
ninety-one millions of dollars, or one hundred millions per 
year — sufficient to educate her entire population for nearly 
seven years. If we suppose the expenses of the United 
States and the other governments of Europe to be only half 
as great as those of Great Britain for war purposes during 
peace, we should still have the startling aggregate of five 
hundred millions annually — a sum sufficient for the educa- 
tion of all Europe and the United States for more than three 
years, and of all the world for more trTan one year. If the 
whole world expend as much in proportion to their numbers 
for war purposes during peace, it would form the frightful 
sum of one thousand six hundred millions of dollars — suffi- 
cient to educate all its population three and a half years. 
Truly this is a peace establishment with a vengeance. 

These statements seem more like the dreams of disordered 
fancy than like sober fact. But they are most painfully true ; 
nay, they fall far short of the reality. But, instead of looking 
on the dark side of the picture, as I expected to do when I 
began these statistics, they have thrown a bright beam of 
promise upon the future condition of the world. They show 
us how immense are the pecuniary capabilities of the human 
family. They show us what an incalculable amount of funds 
the world will have at its disposal, for the promotion of sci- 
ence, literature, and religion, when they shall be brought to 
act according to the principles of reason and religion ; for 
all that now goes into the war channel will then be consecrat- 
ed to the service of knowledge and benevolence. In spite 
of all the oppressions and disadvantages under which the 



WASTE OF MIND. 401 

human family have hitherto labored, they have been able to 
sustain this immense war tax which I have described. Nay, 
I have mentioned only the direct expenses of war. But the 
losses always sustained by withdrawing men from their regu- 
lar pursuits, by blocking up the outlets of trade, by idleness 
and discouragement, and in a multitude of other ways, are 
far greater. In addition to all this, in most countries men 
have been compelled to sustain the extortions of tyrannical 
rulers. Yet has the world borne all these immense taxes ; 
and a few years of peace are generally sufficient to enable a 
nation to recover its pecuniary independence. How vast, 
then, will be its surplus pecuniary resources when war and 
oppression shall cease, and all its energies can be devoted 
unobstructed to the various pursuits of business ! Instead of 
the stinted sums which men are now persuaded, with great 
difficulty, to bestow upon objects of education and benevo- 
lence, and which leave those devoted to such pursuits to dis- 
couragement and heart sickness, because their hands are so 
tied and their energies so cramped, there will then be ready 
for every noble object more than is wanted. Millions will 
then be substituted for thousands. This is indeed a bright 
page of human history, on which we are permitted to gaze in 
anticipation; and it affords a cheering resting place for the 
eye, when placed in contrast with the terrific waste of mind 
which has been the consequence of war. 

Do I seem to any to be indulging in dreams when I say 
that most assuredly such a bright period will come ? But 
do they doubt that the Bible predicts unequivocally a period 
of universal peace, and the prevalence of general, if not uni- 
versal, benevolence ? In such a state, why will not the vast 
treasures that have been wasted upon the destruction of men 
be consecrated to the diffusion of knowledge and religion 
34* 



402 WASTE OF MIND. 

through all the earth ? — objects that claim the first regard of 
every benevolent heart. Assuredly this vision is not imagi- 
nation ; and it looms up in the future, — and I would fondly 
hope not in the distant future, — a bright star of hope for this 
abused and down-trodden world. The little which has hitherto 
been contributed to raise man out of the slough of ignorance 
and sin has accomplished a great deal. What splendid re- 
sults, then, will be witnessed when ample means shall be 
placed within the reach of every human being for the highest 
attainments in knowledge and holiness ! 

Although war has been thus preeminently instrumental in 
the perversion and waste of human intellect, there is a kin- 
dred evil scarcely less hurtful to man's highest interests, 
though more unnoticed in its operation. I refer to the various 
oppressions from tyrannical rulers and masters, under which 
the human family have been sighing and groaning for thou- 
sands of years. If I were to draw out in detail the physical 
sufferings which result from such oppression, I could reach a 
tender chord of sympathy in your bosoms. But when I merely 
calculate the intellectual loss which the world has thereby 
sustained, I feel that I can draw forth no responsive sigh. 
And yet this is in reality a darker part of the picture than the 
physical suffering presents ; for in this way have unnumbered 
millions of mind's been shut up in the hopeless dungeon of 
ignorance and sin. But the world is incapable of estimating 
its loss, because it has never enjoyed the blessing, and there- 
fore it cannot feel that loss. Nor can I describe it. I will 
only refer you to one dark feature in that domestic oppression 
which reigns in our own country, and for which, therefore, 
we as a nation are responsible. In most of the states of this 
Union where slavery exists, the law forbids that the slave 
should be taught to read by severe penalties ; and in one state, 



WASTE OF MIND. 4C3 

at least, that penalty, upon a repetition of the offence, is death. 
Now, if we admit all the reports that have ever been circulated 
as to the physical cruelties practised upon the slave to be true, 
they are hardly worth naming in comparison with this effort 
to stifle and crush the undying souls of two and a half mil- 
lions of our inhabitants. Nor does the injury stop here ; for 
when we find that the poor black man, whose intellect has 
been thus crushed into the dust from generation to generation, 
shows less of mental acumen than the free Caucasian, we 
proudly and presumptuously infer his intellectual inferiority, 
and hence justify his enslaved condition. We have, however, 
the testimony of missionaries from almost every tribe under 
heaven, which demonstrates that the minds of young children 
every where exhibit almost equal mental strength and aptness 
to learn. Hence the slaves of our own land might have risen 
as high on the scale of knowledge and civilization as the free 
white man ; and the immense disparity in this respect which 
now exists may all be imputed to their degraded condition ; 
and hence, too, the world must hold us responsible for all this 
mental waste, who keep the chains of slavery riveted upon 
these millions. O, this is a fearful responsibility ! I leave 
out of the account the bodily sufferings of the slave. He 
who maltreats my body injures only what was once brute 
matter, and will soon be brute matter again. But he who 
mars and manacles my soul lays a ruthless hand upon that 
immortal principle which is an emanation of the Deity, which 
allies me to the Deity, and which a righteous God will not 
see abused with impunity. 

In a free country like ours, there is a prodigious waste of 
mind in the excitement and discussions of party politics. The 
mental efforts devoted often to a gubernatorial, and especially 
a presidential, election would be sufficient, if turned into the 



404 WASTE OF MIND. 

channels of literature and science, to raise our country at 
once to the highest rank on the scale of knowledge. Did 
these periodical excitements prepare the mind to engage with 
greater ardor in literary pursuits, they ought not to be viewed 
as a waste of intellect ; but their tendency is decidedly the 
reverse. No men are so little likely to become eminent in 
science or literature as strong political partisans. The organs 
of combativeness and self-esteem soon become so excessively 
developed as to stifle the reflective faculties. In a few cases, 
indeed, these electioneering battles must be fought to save the 
liberties of the country ; but, in general, an impartial and 
uncommitted man will see that there is scarcely any thing to 
choose between the rival candidates as to general character. 
And when he perceives how sharp and furious the contest 
becomes between the partisans, he will be reminded of Dean 
Swift's couplet respecting disputes about music : — 

" Strange that such high disputes should be 
'Twixt tweedle dum and tweedle dee." 

Notwithstanding the awful predictions by the defeated party 
of the loss of liberty and every thing else valuable, the gov- 
ernment and the affairs of the country generally move on as 
usual, leaving the philosopher and the Christian, while they 
rejoice in the calm that has succeeded, to lament that such 
powerful interests and giant efforts should not be devoted to 
worthier objects. 

In the strong passion for accumulating property which ex- 
ists among men, and which is said to be eminently character- 
istic of Americans, we find another source of a waste of 
mind. In this country, students, like others, are usually 
obliged to build up their pecuniary, as well as literary, for- 
tunes. The consequence is, that the love of money in too 



WASTE OF MIND. 405 

many cases supplants the love of knowledge ; and it is a 
painful fact that a vast proportion of our publicly educated 
youth close their literary labors with the day that gives them 
a professional license. They seem to have submitted to the 
drudgery of an eight or ten years' course of study chiefly for 
the purpose of learning how to accumulate property. Pro- 
fessors and tutors have taken them to the Castalian fountain, 
and tried to make them drink deeply of the pure waters. 
They have been led abroad into the wide fields of nature, and 
shown every thing there u sublimely great and elegantly 
little." They have been taught to take those enlarged views 
of men and things, and of their own responsibilities and capa- 
bilities, which will lead them to sacrifice selfish and petty 
worldly interests to the cause of science, and to consider 
themselves devoted through all their days to the advancement 
of human knowledge and happiness. And now behold the 
magnificent result. They have attained the sublime art of 
acquiring money a little faster than the farmer or mechanic ; 
and most heroically do they consecrate the remainder of life to 
this most noble enterprise. They have been so long so near 
the sun of science that their Dsedalian wings are melted off; 
and from their lofty flights through the wide universe, they 
quietly settle down into the nutshell of a lynx-eyed money 
catcher. To apply the remark of the poet, with a slight 
variation, — > 

" They narrow their mind, 
And to money give up what was meant for mankind." 

These remaiks may seem unreasonably severe. But can 
the fact be doubted that a large majority of educated men do 
give up almost entirely the further prosecution of science and 
literature after they are established in one of the learned 



406 WASTE OF MIND. 

professions ? And how few ever accomplish more than io 
accumulate a moderate fortune by a diligent attention to their 
profession ! And ought a man who has enjoyed so many 
advantages, and held converse with so many of the master 
minds of former times, — ought he to catch none of their 
spirit, and to be willing to abandon the noble pursuits of 
knowledge, and to be satisfied with the mere ordinary routine 
of a profession, useful, indeed, but requiring scarcely any of 
the acquisitions which he ha^ made during his education — 
especially when the continued pursuit of some branch of liter- 
ature or science would make him more eminent and success- 
ful in that profession ? But the difficulty seems to be that 
this continued devotion to literary pursuits would make his 
profession les? profitable in a pecuniary point of view. Money, 
indeed, is no' to be despised by any man ; and, after all, very 
few of our professional men are burdened with it. If it 
comes into a man's hands as the fruit of his intellectual 
labors and his economy, he ought to be thankful, and to 
make a wise improvement of it. But I complain that so 
many should consider its acquisition as the chief object of an 
education, and abandon the prosecution of science and litera- 
ture, because the two objects are thought to be incompatible. 
And the fact is that, so well understood is this incongruity, a 
large proportion of the youth in our colleges, even though 
not compelled to it by poverty, are in the habit, after going 
through them, of selling off the standard works which they 
study there, and which they are taught to regard as next to 
the Bible in value, just as if they should have no further use 
for them. This appears to me to be the same almost as if 
the mechanic should dispose of his tools after he had learned 
the use of them by a seven years' apprenticeship. How 
many men, also, who have become attached to some branch 



WASTE OF MIND. 407 

of literature or science in early life, soon abandon it, on en- 
tering upon their profession ! — not, surely, because it would 
make them less learned or respected, but because they find 
that the charlatans with whom they have to compete, having 
no learning to impede them, are able to bear away the pecu- 
niary palm. In this case, the fault lies chiefly with the com- 
munity, who prefer the prompt, pliable, and voluble empiric 
to the more modest and cautious, yet learned, lawyer or 
physician. 

In the early relish which is acquired, in the present state 
of society, for things artificial, I find another prolific cause of 
a waste of mind. God has filled the world with a vast vari- 
ety of objects, animal, vegetable, and mineral, far more at- 
tractive and beautiful than any result of man's invention. He 
has scattered them in immense profusion all around us, and 
brought them into contact with all our senses. He has also 
implanted in the human soul a strong love for these objects. 
I never saw a young child who did not exhibit a decided rel- 
ish for natural objects. How eagerly will children pluck the 
opening flower, or gather up the sparkling mineral, or chase 
the gay insect, and gaze upon the brilliant bird ! Indeed, 
they are constitutionally naturalists, and it is easy to excite in 
them so much enthusiasm, that they will forget their ordinary 
food, if you will lead them forth into the fields, and point out 
to them the wonders of creation. But in the present condi- 
tion of society, this natural taste is not cultivated. They are 
sent to the primary school, and there their attention is turned 
to subjects that have little connection with nature. I do not 
complain that they are taught grammar, and geography, and 
history, and arithmetic ; but I do complain that there is not 
mingled with these studies, so dull to them, some instruction 
in zoology, botany, and mineralogy. The first lines of these 



408 WASTE OF MIND. 

branches might be taught to children as early at least as they 
learn the alphabet, and it would be a very easy matter to 
make four fifths of them no mean adepts in these branches in 
very early life, and that, too, without interfering at all with 
other studies. Once call into action their enthusiasm for nat- 
ural history, and you will find it a most powerful means of 
preserving them from idleness and wicked companionship. 

But instead of this course, evidently pointed out by the 
providence of God, the attention of children is directed almost 
wholly to things artificial. The boy soon learns that money 
is the most important thing in this world, because it will pro- 
cure for him toys, and delicacies for the palate ; and as he 
grows older, he looks forward for happiness to the possession 
of a fashionable equipage, and other means of sensual enjoy- 
ment. The girl finds very early that dress and personal 
appearance are the grand objects for which she should live ; 
and as she grows up to womanhood, this is too apt to become 
the ruling passion of her life. Every freak and every change 
in fashion are watched with more carefulness than her health, 
her mental improvement, or any thing else. Thus does she 
unconsciously waste enough of mental power to make her 
very wise and very learned. Indeed, were all the anxiety, 
and study, and ingenuity, and expense, which woman now 
devotes, throughout the world, to these objects, to be given to 
the cultivation of her mind, permanently endowed female 
seminaries would be as common as colleges and universities, 
and the world would have its admired galaxy of female au- 
thors, encircling the whole heavens — not, as now, a few 
scattered stars, scarcely noticed. 

Let me not be thought, however, by these remarks, so 
utilitarian in my views as to suppose that attention to personal 



WASTE OF MIND. 409 

appearance, and to objects generally whose principal use is to 
gratify the love of the harmonious and the beautiful, is a mere 
waste of money and of mind. The elegant symmetry of 
Nature's works, and the lavish manner in which she has 
adorned her infinitely varied productions, often for no assign- 
able cause but to gratify the beholder, teach me a very differ- 
ent lesson, and show me that it is not only right, but a duty, 
to imitate nature, by expending time and money to give an 
attractive and elegant appearance to our persons, our dwell- 
ings, our streets, and indeed to all the products of our labors, 
so far as it can be done consistently with higher duties. If a 
man gives that time and attention to these objects which are 
indispensable to the acquisition of knowledge, or if he devote 
to them that wealth which should have been bestowed upon 
the poor and the distressed, or any other object of benevo- 
lence, who would not say that he was doing wrong, morally 
wrong ? If he can satisfy the just claims of learning and 
benevolence, no matter how much of his surplus time and 
surplus money he gives to objects whose chief use is to gratify 
the taste ; and I doubt not, that when men shall spend their 
time and property more as God would have them than they 
now do, a much greater portion will be devoted to works of 
taste and ornament. But as the world now is, with so much 
ignorance to be enlightened, and misery to be relieved, when 
the calls of learning and benevolence are so loud upon us, it 
is a most difficult point to determine how much we may con- 
secrate to purposes of mere ornament. And I complain, that 
the noble powers of woman, so eminently adapted, if turned 
into the right channel, to bless mankind, should so extensively 
be suffered to waste themselves upon an affair comparatively 
so unimportant as dress ; especially when I recollect, that 
35 

I 



410 WASTE OF MIND. 

" Loveliness 
Needs not the foreign aid of ornament, 
But is when unadorned adorned the most." 

And confident am I that such would not be the case, were 
the constitutional bias of the young for natural objects more 
faithfully cultivated, and artificial objects made to assume in 
their estimation a proper, that is, a subordinate place. 

Another most pernicious effect resulting from this artificial 
state of things in society, is that strong love of romance, 
which now almost constitutes a universal passion. At least 
one fifth part of all the works published in this country are 
works of fiction ; and probably one half of the works actu- 
ally read are of this description. And they are devoured 
with epicurean greediness by almost all classes, especially by 
the young. Need I stop to convince this audience, that the 
time and mental effort devoted to the preparation and perusal 
of such works are much worse than wasted ? that they en- 
gender views and feelings decidedly hostile to thorough mental 
discipline, and to temporal and eternal happiness ? Now, if a 
love of nature were early and thoroughly cultivated in the 
youthful bosom, I am confident that usually it would forestall 
the love of fiction. For does the youth resort to works of 
romance because he wishes to gratify a natural taste for the 
new and the beautiful ? Where can he find such novelty and 
such beauty as nature unfolds ? Is it a love of variety that 
makes romance so fascinating ? Here, too, nature is as su- 
perior to human invention as the Author of nature is to man. 
Or is it a love of the marvellous and the magnificent that 
constitutes the chief attraction of the dreams of imagination ? 
O, where are the wonders and sublimities that can be com- 
pared to those which open before the student of nature at 
every step ? — wonders of fact, and not of fiction ; on which, 



WASTE OF MIND. 411 

therefore, the mind may feast continually without fear, and 
find all its powers invigorated and refreshed. In short, to 
him who has cultivated that love for the works of creation 
which is originally implanted in all our hearts, 

" God makes all nature beauty to his eye, 
And music to his ear." 

And yet what multitudes there are, even of refined and 
cultivated minds, to whom nature is but a synonyme for vul- 
garity ; who can recite fluently every tale in the Waverleys 
and the Bozziana, but whose knowledge of nature is limited 
to an acquaintance with a few roses, dahlias, and other exot- 
ics, whose stamens have been changed to petals by cultivation, 
so as to have lost the delicate beauty of their natural state ! 

Gladly would I linger on this part of my subject, and pre- 
sent other arguments to win the young to the study and love 
of nature. As they advance in life, they will find that a love 
of artificial objects and pleasures will pall upon the mind, 
and ere long be succeeded by disgust. But a genuine love 
of nature clings to the heart in all the vicissitudes of life ; in 
adversity as well as in prosperity ; in sickness as well as in 
health ; even to extreme old age, when almost every other 
worldly source of pleasure is dried up. Hear the testimony 
of Hannah More, at the age of eighty-two. " The only one of 
my youthful fond attachments," says she, " which exists still in 
its full force, is a passion for scenery, raising flowers, and 
landscape gardening." Well, indeed, will it be for the young, 
if they will follow the example of this venerable woman, and 
early acquire a passion for scenery and flowers. For as they 
pass through life, they will find the world often frowning upon 
them ; but the flowers will always smile. And it is sweet, in 
the day of adversity, to be met with a smile. 



412 WASTE OF BUND. 

The last prolific cause of mental waste, which I shall men- 
tion, is indolence and irresolution. Among the vast numbers 
of men capable of rising to eminence in art, science, or lit- 
erature, and of making a deep impression on the world, how 
few confer any lasting benefit upon their generation, by their 
works, inventions, or discoveries ! And it seems to me that 
the want of perseverance — in other words, indolence and 
irresolution ■ — is the principal cause of their failure. Go to 
the primary school, and, among a hundred boys you will 
usually find fifty exhibiting nearly equal natural abilities, and 
making equal progress in learning. In the academy and the 
college you will find as large a proportion, between whose 
talents and scholarship you will see scarcely any difference. 
Year after year, they will move forward shoulder to shoulder, 
and come to the end of their literary course so nearly abreast, 
that it requires a nice application of the merit gauge to give 
them a difference of rank on the scale of honorary appoint- 
ments ; and the most sagacious application of the doctrine of 
probabilities will not enable any one to predict with confidence 
which of them will be distinguished above his fellows in fu- 
ture life. But let the history of those boys and young men, 
whether from the primary school, the academy, or the college, 
be consulted at the end of their lives, and you will scarcely 
find a dozen, out of a hundred, who have risen to high dis- 
tinction in their business or profession, or made valuable dis- 
coveries, or left a deep impression upon the world. The 
others may have done much good ; but why have they not 
done as much as their dozen comrades, who, during the 
years of their elementary education, were not able to outstrip 
them ? We must allow something for feeble health, and 
other unforeseen difficulties, hedging up the path of a few. 
But in respect to the great body of these men, difference in 



WASTE OF MIND. 413 

application and perseverance will alone explain their difference 
of success. The twelve had acquired, during their early- 
days, an ardent love of knowledge, and a deep sense of their 
responsibilities to God and the world, and the result was, a 
strong determination to make use of the vantage ground which 
they had attained, for pushing their conquests still farther into 
the dominions of art and science. Having prepared them- 
selves by an elementary acquaintance with the circle of 
knowledge, they selected some particular department, to which 
taste or duty invited, and concentrated their energies upon its 
thorough examination ; being convinced that he who attempts 
to master all subjects, though he may become respectable in 
all, can be accurate and successful in none. Having chosen 
their field, they went about its exploration as a business for 
life. The morning's dawn and the evening's darkness found 
them still at their work. Those seasons which most men 
devote to relaxation witnessed in them little more than a 
change of objects, whereby their exhausted energies were 
recruited. Time they regarded as a treasure too rich to have 
any of it wasted ; and therefore all its shreds and patches 
were carefully used. The difficulties which they encountered 
in their researches served only r to awaken new effort, and 
every new conquest gave them an earnest of future victories. 
Feeble health may have retarded their progress ; poverty's 
skeleton hand may often have been laid with a crushing weight 
upon their heads ; the world may have passed them by in cold 
neglect, or cast' upon them a contemptuous frown, while the 
discerning and liberal few may not have found them out. But 
the unconquerable spirit within them stood erect in spite of all 
these obstructions. The delight which every step of their 
progress afforded by opening new wonders before them ; the 
increased power which each acquisition gave them to advance 
35* 



414 WASTE OF MIND. 

to other victories ; the desire of leaving their names perma- 
nently inscribed upon the history of man ; and perhaps also 
those higher motives to diligence derived from a sense of 
responsibility to Heaven ; all these motives were continually 
sounding in their ears the onward cry. And onward they 
went, triumphing over one difficulty after another, until the 
world at last confessed their superiority, sought from them the 
lessons of wisdom, and lavished upon them its honors. But 
their former companions lingered in the race. They were 
wanting in the untiring industry and indomitable spirit of per- 
severance which these twelve men exhibited, and therefore 
they have not stood forth as the master spirits of their times, 
nor secured the homage of the world ; and the wave of ob- 
livion has rolled over their memories. But having equal tal- 
ents in the commencement of their course with their more 
energetic companions, their failure and the world's loss must 
be imputed to their indolence and irresolution. 

But I will not further weary your patience by pointing out 
other causes of that waste of mind of which the world ex- 
hibits so many melancholy examples. Melancholy indeed is 
the dark catalogue which I have already presented ; incalcu- 
lable the amount of that loss which the world has always sus- 
tained, and still sustains, from perverted and neglected intel- 
lect. Now, I maintain that God has given to the human fam- 
ily, as a whole, an inalienable right to all the intellectual labor 
of which the individuals of that family are capable. What- 
ever deficiency, or perversion, or waste, there' is in those la- 
bors, it is just so much downright robbery, for which some- 
body is accountable. So long, however, has this robbery been 
practised, that the world has become insensible to its rights, 
and knows not how to estimate its loss ; and individuals have 
forgotten their responsibility. How great that responsibility 



WASTE OF MIND. 415 

is, the views which I have presented may assist us in deter- 
mining. Who of us does not shudder when he thinks of 
that deep stain of guilt which rests on his soul who tears the 
wretched African from his home, and shuts him up in hope- 
less servitude for life on the cotton, rice, and sugar planta- 
tions of the tropics ? Why are we so insensible to that far 
darker crime by which a whole world have been kept in igno- 
rance and wretchedness for so many thousands of years? 
Probably the reason is that, in this sense, we are all of us 
slave dealers and slave holders ; nay, we enslave our own 
souls. 

Such views as I have presented cannot but exalt our esti- 
mation of literary and scientific pursuits, and of all efforts 
which are made to promote the cause of education. The 
heart sickens when it sees how many and how powerful are 
the causes in operation to pervert, and crush, and waste man's 
intellect, and to keep those powers grovelling in the dust 
which should be rising and soaring among the stars. But it 
is cheering to know that there are some, and in this country 
many, who are striving to rescue the noblest thing on earth, 
the human soul, from its thraldom and degradation. They 
stand, indeed, in the world's Thermopylae, and struggle against 
a fearful odds. But they shall not fall there, like the band 
of Leonidas. Nay, they shall see the deluge of ignorance 
and sin which has so long been dashing over the fairest por- 
tion of the globe beaten back ; and the dry land of knowl- 
edge and virtue shall appear, and the flowers of hope and 
happiness shall spring up, and the rich fruits of science and 
religion shall fill the garners of every land. 

A beautiful bow of promise already spans the horizon ; 
for, when Christianity prevails in all lands and fully controls 
all hearts, then those powerful causes of intellectual waste 



416 WASTE OF MIND. 

and perversion which I have pointed out shall pass away. 
Intemperance in every form, and cruel war, and fierce party 
collisions, and inordinate selfishness, and factitious and unnat- 
ural desires shall all be sacrificed upon the altar of benevo- 
lence ; and man shall shake off his indolence, and ample 
means and motives shall be placed before the whole human 
family for intellectual and moral culture. Then shall such 
progress be made in science, literature, and art as will throw 
into the shade all former bright spots in human history ; then 
will the world learn for the first time how deep has been her 
degradation, how incalculably valuable are the rights of which 
for thousands of years she has been deprived, and how truly 
frightful has been the waste of mind since the beginning. O, 
how cheering to the lover of science to look forward to those 
halcyon days which Christianity tells us shall assuredly come ! 
Imagination need not fear that her most vivid colors can 
outdo the original ; for if the little benevolence and the little 
knowledge which have been in the world hitherto have ac- 
complished so much, what imagination can sketch the picture 
when the hearts of earth's vast population shall all be swayed 
by benevolence, and their minds all disciplined and expanded 
by science ? 

The institution whose anniversary we celebrate to-day is to 
me an earnest that such a bright period is coming on. A 
brief sketch of its history is, therefore, an appropriate close 
to my remarks. 

There is a place in Essex county, called Agawam by the 
natives, which was visited by our pilgrim fathers nine years 
before the settlement of Plymouth, and of which Captain John 
Smith, of Virginia, gave the following account six years be- 
fore the Mayflower entered Massachusetts Bay. u Here," 
says he, " are many rising hills, and on their tops and de- 



WASTE OF MIND. 417 

scents are many cornefields and delightful groues. On the 
east is an isle of two or three leagues in length — the one 
half plain marsh ground, fit for pasture or salt ponds, with 
many fine high groues of mulberry trees. There are also 
okes, pines, walnuts, and other wood, to make this place an 
excellent habitation." Nineteen years afterwards, the pil- 
grims located themselves in this spot ; and, more than one 
hundred years after, two young ladies had made the pleasant 
village which had sprung up there the seat of a flourishing 
female seminary. God had greatly smiled upon their efforts ; 
for while they placed their standard of literary attainments 
high, religion, not nominally only, but practically, was made 
paramount to every thing else. The consequence was, that 
Ipswich female seminary soon attracted the attention, not only 
of the wise and the good in our own land, but even of visitors 
from Europe ; for it sent a benign influence to the remotest 
portions of this country, and even to far distant heathen lands. 
Its moulding power gave to the female character that happy 
shape which, while it fitted woman for great energy of action, 
did not hide those milder virtues and that grace of manners 
which make her influence almost irresistible over the human 
heart. 

The ladies who had charge of this seminary were not in- 
sensible to the blessings with which God had crowned their 
labors. They had the joy of witnessing, from month to month 
and from year to year, a silent yet transforming divine influ- 
ence, whereby a large proportion of all who came there 
unconverted returned to their paternal roof with the new song 
of redeeming love upon their lips. They went back, also, 
with a new and deeper sense of their responsibilities to their 
fellow-beings, and with a strong determination henceforth to 
devote the energies of their minds to the cause of human 



418 WASTE OF MIND. 

improvement and happiness. But as these teachers mused 
on the subject, often would the inquiry arise, How shall the 
blessings of our institution be perpetuated ? Often, when the 
labors of the day were ended, and the silence of evening was 
broken only by the whip-poor-will's song or the distant surf 
breaking on the shore, would they muse upon this question 
until the fire burned within them, and an irrepressible desire 
arose to do something more than they had done for placing 
the means of education permanently within the reach of the 
daughters of America — especially those whose pecuniary 
means are small, but to whom Providence has made up in 
mind what is wanting in money. As they cast their eyes 
over the land, though colleges and universities met them at 
almost every step, not a single permanent female seminary 
could be found. In many places, such schools had risen 
up and become distinguished while some able teacher was 
at their head ; but as soon as she was gone, the glory of 
the institution departed. Their own would probably share 
the same fate. Already did the occasional sinking of nature, 
under their arduous labors, remind them that those labors 
must soon forever cease. But could an institution like theirs 
be moderately endowed by a benevolent public, so that 
rooms, and apparatus, and books should be * gratuitously fur- 
nished, the same system of instruction might pass from 
teacher to teacher through successive generations. After 
long deliberation and much prayer, one of these teachers 
resolved to consecrate herself for the remainder of life, if 
necessary, to carry this plan into effect. The other has not, 
indeed, been permitted to build the temple ; but it was not 
because, like David, she was unfit, but because an enfeebled 
constitution has compelled her to retire from the arduous 
duties of public instruction ; though I am happy to say that 



WASTE OF MIND. 419 

she is able to fill a private station with great dignity, useful- 
ness, and happiness. 

The plan was thus laid, and the agent ready for the work ; 
but what an herculean task to carry it into execution ! Who 
could be made to believe that permanence in a female semi- 
nary was desirable ? Who, especially, could be persuaded to 
give money for an enterprise of so doubtful utility and uncer- 
tain success ? I believe the effort must have been a failure, 
if, in the first place, the prime mover had not been a woman ; 
if, in the second place, she had not in the outset appealed to 
woman ; and if, in the third place, she had not acquired so 
firm a conviction of the excellence of her cause as to feel 
assured that God would ultimately make it triumph — so that 
coldness, ridicule, and enmity would produce no effect but to 
stimulate her to greater efforts and more fervent prayer. 
Yes, she did first appeal to women; and, to the everlasting 
honor of the ladies of Ipswich, be it known that they raised 
a purse of five hundred dollars to give the first impulse to 
the cause ; and, what is still more to their credit, they did this 
when they knew that the proposed seminary would be located 
in some other part of the country. This was soon increased 
to one thousand dollars by other ladies ; and if that sum had 
not been raised, probably the walls of this seminary would 
never have gone up. Thus the prompt impulse of woman's 
generous heart has secured that object which man's cold wis- 
dom would have deemed quixotic, but which he is now willing 
to acknowledge to be most noble in character and rich in 
promise. 

It cannot be expected that, on this occasion, I should go 
into minute details respecting the means used to advance this 
enterprise, and the many difficulties which have been over- 
come to bring it into its present condition. There is but one 



420 WASTE OF MIND. 

individual who could write such a history ; nor could even she 
give us an adequate idea of the toils and sacrifices which this 
great work has cost — how hard it was at first to gain the ear 
of the Christian puhlic long enough to unfold the plan ; how 
much harder still to make even a few believe in its feasibil- 
ity ; how the way seemed often so hedged up that prayer was 
the only resort ; and, what was worse to bear with a Christian 
spirit, how even influential fellow-Christians endeavored to 
put down the enterprise by scorn and ridicule. Even most 
of us, who have viewed it with deep interest from the begin- 
ning, will recollect how the pleadings of its eloquent advocate 
produced in us only faith enough to say to her, We admire 
the plan, and wish it might succeed, and any influence we 
possess shall be cheerfully given to it ; but you must expect 
a hard struggle to accomplish it. And, in fact, while we could 
not but speak encouraging words, there was within us a faint- 
ing of the heart in anticipation of defeat. We forgot the 
sentiment of Elliot, that " prayers and pains through Jesus 
Christ can do any thing." And as we look around us to-day, 
we stand rebuked for our misgivings and unbelief. Little 
did I ever imagine that my eyes would be allowed to behold 
one of the finest edifices in New England so soon completed, 
and with its two hundred inmates already exerting a strong 
influence in arresting the waste of female mind in our coun- 
try. I had thought of it as one of the visions which the early 
Christian friends of this institution might be permitted to enjoy, 
long after they had gone to their final rest, as they came down 
hither on some errand of mercy. But to most of them the 
vision is granted this side the grave ; and to-day are they per- 
mitted to mingle their congratulations at the completion of 
this noble enterprise, and to unite in thanksgiving to that infi- 
nite Being whose blessing has crowned every effort to advance 
it with success. 



WASTE OF MIND. 421 

The blessing of God, my friends, is indeed to be specially 
acknowledged, on this occasion, as having been experienced 
from the first conception of this institution to its completion. 
Those who have borne the heat and burden of the enterprise 
have found his providence their cloud by day and their pillar 
of fire by night, and therefore their courage has not fainted. 
The success of the seminary thus far has been only a fulfil- 
ment of the promise of Jehovah, Them that honor me I will 
honor ; for holiness to the Lord was engraved upon its foun- 
dations, and stands out in bold relief upon the top stone. 
From the first it has been distinctly understood that, while an 
elevated and thorough system of instruction should be here 
pursued, religion should receive a still higher attention, and 
take the precedence of every thing else. This I conceive to 
be the grand fundamental principle on which the institution 
rests, and the secret of all its success hitherto, and the only 
ground of hope for the future. God has set his seal to this 
principle by the almost constant presence of that divine energy 
by which the soul is converted. And while that principle is 
practically regarded, it will continue to be blessed. Its teach- 
ers, its present mode of instruction, its peculiarities of do- 
mestic arrangement, may all be changed without essentially 
affecting its prosperity, so long as this principle is made the 
pole star of action. Nay, its influence shall become wider 
and wider, deeper and deeper. By means of its example and 
its well-educated pupils, it shall operate all over the land to 
raise the standard of female education, and to rescue woman 
from the perversion and waste of her powers. Man, too, 
shall come under its humanizing influence, and be awakened 
to new efforts in the cause of learning and benevolence. Nor 
shall that influence be limited to the civilized portions of our 
continent. Its daughters shall go forth, as some have already 
36 



422 WASTE OF MIND. 

gone, with minds well disciplined and hearts binning with a 
desire to bless mankind, to the persecuted red man of our 
western wilds, and to the degraded heathen and Mohammedan 
of far distant continents and islands ; and in every quarter of 
the globe shall the ignorant, the oppressed, and the miserable, 
especially abused and suffering woman, call down a blessing 
upon its founders and its pupils. It shall add new power to 
that lever which benevolence has placed beneath the regions 
of ignorance and sin, and which is fast heaving them up into 
the daylight of Christianity and science. It shall form one 
of those radiant points from which the blended rays of knowl- 
edge and religion will go forth, to aid in forming that halo of 
light which shall at length encircle the whole earth, and make 
it noonday among all the nations. 



nJJPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

HISTORY. 

HISTORY OF THE REIGN OF PHILIP II. 

By William H. Prescott. With Portraits, Maps, Plates, &c. 
Two volumes, 8vo. Price, in muslin, $2 per volume. 

The reign of Philip the Second, embracing the last half of the sixteenth century, 
Is one of the most important as well as interesting portions of modern history. 
It is necessary to glance only at some of the principal events. The "War of the 
Netherlands — the model, so to say, of our own glorious War of the Revolution 
— the Siege of Malta, and its memorable defence by the Knights of St. John; the 
brilliant career of Don John of Austria, the hero of Lepanto ; the Quixotic adven- 
tures of Don Sebastialf of Portugal ; the conquest of that kingdom by the Duke 
of Alba ; Philip's union with Mary of England, and his wars with Elizabeth, with 
the story of the Invincible Armada ; the Inquisition, with its train of woes ; the 
rebellion of the Moriscos, and the cruel manner in which it was avenged — these 
form some of the prominent topics in the foreground of the picture, which pre- 
sents a crowd of subordinate details of great interest in regard to the character 
and court of Philip, and to the institutions of Spain, then in the palmy days of 
her prosperity. The materials for this vast theme were to be gathered from every 
part of Europe, and the author has for many years been collecting them from the 
archives of different capitals. The archives of Simancas, in particular, until very 
lately closed against even the native historian, have been opened to his researches ; 
and his collection has been further enriched by MSS. from some of the principal 
houses in Spain, the descendants of the great men of the sixteenth century. Such 
a collection of original documents has never before been made for the illustration 
of this period. 

The two volumes now published bring down the story to the execution of 
Counts Egmont and Hoorn in 1568, and to the imprisonment and death of Don 
Carlos, whose mysterious fate, so long the subject of speculation, is now first ex- 
plored by the light of the authentic records of Simancas. 

HISTORY OF THE REIGN OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA, 
The Catholic. 

By W. H. Prescott. With Portraits. Three volumes, 8vo. 
Price, in muslin, $2 per volume. 

" Mr. Prescott's merit chiefly consists in the skilful arrangement of his materi- 
als, in the spirit of philosophy which animates the work, and in a clear and ele- 
gant style that charms and interests the reader. His book is one of the most 
successful historical productions of our time. The inhabitant of another world, 
he seems to have shaken off the prejudices of ours. In a word, he has, in every 
respect, made a most valuable addition to our historical literature." — Edinburgh 
Review. 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, 4 CO.'S PUBLICATIONS 

HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO, 

With the Life of the Conqueror, Pernando Cortez, and a View 
of the Ancient Mexican Civilization. By "W. H. Prescott. 
With Portrait and Maps. Three volumes, 8vo. Price, in mus- 
lin, $2 per volume. 

" The more closely we examine Mr. Prescott's work the more do we find cause 
to commend his diligent research. His vivacity of manner and discursive obser- 
vations scattered through notes as well as text, furnish countless proofs of his 
matchless industry. In point of style, too, he ranks with the ablest English his- 
torians ; and paragraphs may be found in his volumes in which the grace and 
eloquence of Addison are combined with Robertson's majestic cadence and Gib- 
bon's brilliancy." — Ailienczum. 

HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF PERU ; 

With a Preliminary View of the Civilization of the Incas. By 
W. H. Prescott. With Portraits, Maps, &c. Two vols., 8vo. 
Price, in muslin, $2 per volume. 

" The world's history contains no chapter more striking and attractive than 
that comprising the narrative of Spanish conquest in the Americas. Teeming 
with interest to the historian and philosopher, to the lover of daring enterprise 
and marvellous adventure, it is full of fascination. A clear head and a sound 
judgment, great industry and a skilful pen, are needed to do justice to the sub- 
ject. These necessary qualities have been found united in the person of an ac- 
complished American author. Already favorably known by his histories of the 
eventful and chivalrous reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of the exploits of 
the Great Marquis and his iron followers, Mr. Prescott has added to his well- 
merited reputation by his narrative of the Conquest of Peru." — Blackwood. 

Mr. Prescott's works are also bound in more elaborate styles, 

— half calf, half turkey, full calf, and turkey antique. 



§wrg* 



THE HISTORY OF MASSACHUSETTS, 

By Rev. John Stetson Barry. To be comprised in three vol- 
umes, octavo. Volume I. embracing the Colonial Period, dowu 
to 1692, now ready. Volumes II. and III. in active prepara- 
tion. Price, in muslin, $2 per volume. 

Extracts from a Letter from Mr. Prescott, the Historian. 

Boston, June 8, 1855. 
Messrs. Phillips, Sampson, & Co. 

Gentlemen, — The History is based on solid foundations, as a glance at the ai 
ttiorities will show. 

The author has well exhibited the elements of the Puritan character, which he 
has evidently studied with much care. His style is perspicuous ami manly. frt*» 
from affectation ; and he merits the praise of a conscientious endeavor to be im- 
partial. 

The volume must be found to make a valuable addition to our stores of colonial 
history. Truly yours, 

WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT. 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

From the Invasion of Julius Csesar to the Abdication of James 
II., 1688. By David Hume, Esq. A new edition, with the 
author's last corrections and improvements ; to which is pre- 
fixed a short account of his life, written by himself. Six vol- 
umes, with Portrait. Black muslin, 40 cents per volume ; in 
red muslin, 50 cents ; half binding, or library style, 50 cents 
per volume ; half calf, extra, $1.25 per volume. 
The merits of this history are too well known to need comment. Despite the 
author's predilections in favor of the House of Stuart, he is the historian most 
respected, and most generally read. Even the hrilliant Macaulay, though seek- 
ing to establish an antagonistic theory with respect to the royal prerogative, did 
not choose to enter the lists with Hume, but after a few chapters by way of cur- 
Bory review, began his history where his great predecessor had left off. 

No work in the language can take the place of this, at least for the present 
century. And nowhere can it be found accessible to the general reader for any 
thing like the price at which this handsome issue is furnished. 

These standard histories, Hume, Gibbon, Macaulay, and Lingard, are known as 
the Boston Library Edition. For uniformity of style and durability of binding, 
quality of paper and printing, they are the cheapest books ever offered to the 
American public, and the best and most convenient editions published in this 
country. 



THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

From the Accession of James II. By Thomas Babington Ma- 
caulay. Four volumes, 12mo., with Portrait. Black muslin, 40 
cents per volume ; red muslin, 50 cents ; library style and 
half binding, 50 cents; calf, extra, $1.25. 

" The all-accomplished Mr. Macaulay, the most brilliant and captivating of 
English writers of our own day. seems to have been born for the sole purpose of 
making English history as fascinating as one of Scott's romances." — North Amer- 
ican Review. 

" The great work of the age. While every page affords evidence of great re- 
search and unwearied labor, giving a most impressive view of the period, it has 
all the interest of an historical romance." — Baltimore Patriot. 



THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FAIL OF THE EO 
MAN EMPIRE, 

By Edward Gibbon, Esq. With Notes by Rev. H. H. Milman. 
A." new Edition. To wbicb is added a complete Index of the 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLIC ATIOi^. 

whole work. Six volumes, with Portrait. 12mo., muslin, 40 
cents per volume; red muslin, 50 cents; half binding, or li- 
brary style, 50 cents per volume ; half calf, extra, $1.25. 
" We commend it as the best library edition extant." — Boston Transcript. 
"The publishers are now doing an essential service to the rising generation in 
placing within their reach a work of such acknowledged merit, and so absolute- 
ly indispensable." — Baltimore American. 

" Such an edition of this English classic has long been wanted ; it is «& 2ice 
convenient, economical, and elegant." — Home Journal. 



finprfo. 

A HISTORY OF ENGLAND, 

From the first Invasion by the Romans to the Accession of 
William and Mary in 1688. By John Lingard, D. D. From 
the last revised London edition. In thirteen volumes ; illus- 
trated title pages, and portrait of the author. 12mo., muslin. 
Price, 75 cents per volume. 

" This history has taken its place among the classics of the English language." 
— Lowell Courier. 

" It is infinitely superior to Hume, and there is no comparison between it and 
Macaulay's romance. Whoever has not access to the original monuments will 
find Dr. Lingard's work the best one he can consult." — Brownson , s Review. 

" Lingard's history has been long known as the best history of England ever 
written ; but hitherto the price has been such as deprived all but the most 
wealthy readers of any chance of possessing it. Now, however, its publication 
has been commenced in a beautiful style, and at such a price that no student of 
history need fail of its acquisition." — Albany Transcript. 



HISTORY OP THE FRENCH REVOLUTION OF 1848, 

By Alphonse de Lamartine. Translated by F. A. Durrvage 
and William S. Chase. In one volume, octavo, with illustra- 
tions. Price, in muslin, $2.25. 
Same work, in a 12mo. edition, muslin, 75 cents ; sheep, 90 cents. 
A most graphic history of great events, by one of the principal actors therein. 
"The day will come when Lamartine, standing by the gate-post of the Hotel de 
Ville, and subduing by his eloquence the furious passions of the thousands upon 
thousands of delirious revolutionists, who sought they knew not what at tne 
hands of the self-constituted Provisional Government of 1848, will be commemo- 
rated in stone, on canvas, and in song, as the very impersonation of moral sub- 
limity." — Meth. Quarterly Review. 

" No fitting mete-wand hath To-day 
For measuring spirits of thy stature, — 
Only the Future can reach up to lay 
The laurel on that lofty nature, — 
Bard, who with some diviner art 
Hast touched the bard's true lyre, a nation's heart." 

James Russell Lowell, " To Lamartine." 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 
f Sit. 

HISTORY OF KANZAS AND NEBRASKA, 

With a Map. Compiled with the assistance of the New Eng- 
land Emigrant Aid Society, by Rev. E. E. Hale. Price, in 
muslin, 75 cents. 

This work is the result of labor and research, and will be found invaluable to 
those who contemplate removing to Kanzas, as well as to those who for other rea- 
sons would acquire a knowledge of the geography and capabilities of the territo- 
ries. The extraordinary scenes which have transpired during their recent rapid 
settlement are sufficient to attract the public attention strongly to whatever 
may give authentic information. 



§SllOtt. 
THE HISTORY OP CUBA. 



Or Notes of a Traveller in the Tropics. By Iff. M. Ballou. In 
one volume, 12mo., with illustrations. Price, 75 cents. 
In this volume Mr. Ballou has given a well-written, but concise history of Cuba 
from its discovery to the present time. Following this the author endeavors to 
place the character and manners of the people and the scenery of the beautiful 
island directly before the reader's mental vision. Authentic and valuable in 
matter, attractive in manner, the book combines greater merits than any other 
similar work. 



Cnijj, g'Jw&ipt. 



HISTORY OP THE PROTESTANT CHURCn IN HUNGARY 

Prom the Beginning of the Reformation to 1850. "With ref- 
erence also to Transylvania. Translated by the Rev. J. Craig, 
D. D., Hamburg. With an Introduction by J. H. Merle D'Au- 
bigne, D. D., President of the Theological School of Geneva, 
550 pages. Price, $1.25. 

" This is a translation of a German work, of great reliability and value. The 
matter it contains has been collated from a large mass of public and private doc- 
uments, and every pains has apparently been taken to render it what it professes 
to be, a complete History of Protestantism in Hungary. The hearty indorse- 
ment of the work contained in the introductory chapter, by Dr. Merle D'Aul.hrne, 
the distinguished author of the ' History of the Great Reformation,' will uoi 
fail to secure for the book the confidence of the Christian public, while its attrac- 
tive style and instructive character entitle it to a place in the library of the cler- 
gyman, the Sabbath school, and the private Christian."— National Era. 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & GO'S PUBLICATIONS. 



ESSAYS, REVIEWS, AND LECTURES. 

(Brnttati. 

ESSAYS, BY RALPH WALDO EMERSON, 

First Series, in one volume, 12mo. Price, $1. Second Series, 
in one volume, 12mo. Price, $1. 
It is too late to present any labored analysis of the writings of Emerson, — too 
late to set down any eulogy. Whoever loves to deal with first principles, and is not 
deterred from grappling with abstract truths, will find in these essays a rare pleas- 
ure in the exercise of his powers. The popular ridicule which was heaped upon 
the so-called transcendental literature, at least so far as Emerson is concerned, 
has passed away ; and these volumes are universally admitted to be among the 
most valuable contributions to the world's stock of ideas which our age has fur- 
nished. Every page bears the impress of thought, but it is thought subtilized, 
and redolent of poetry. Obscurity there is none, save to the incapable or the 
prejudiced, or to those averse to metaphysical speculations. 

NATURE ; ADDRESSES AND LECTURES, 

By It. W. Emerson. In one volume, 12mo. Price, $1. 

REPRESENTATIVE MEN, 

Seven Lectures, by R. W. Emerson. In one volume, 12mo 
Price, $ 1. 

" It is certainly one of the most fascinating books ever written, whether we 
consider its subtile verbal felicities, its deep and shrewd observation, its keen crit- 
icism, its wit or learning, its wisdom or beauty. For fineness of wit, imagination, 
observation, satire, and sentiment, the book hardly has its equal in American lit- 
erature." — JE. P. Whipple. 

" It is a thoughtful book, and better adapted to please the majority of readers 
than any previous attempt of the writer." — H. T. Tuckerman. 

" This is not an ordinary book." — London Athenceum. 



CRITICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, 

By Thomas Carlyle. In one volume, octavo, with Portrait 
Price, in muslin, $1.75. 

This vigorous and profound writer has been chiefly known to the public at 
large from the caricatures of his style published by those to whom drapery and 
ornament are of more consequence than vital force. The faults of Carlyle ar« 
sufficiently obvious ; they lie upon the very surface ; but for nicety of analysis, 
power, and closeness of logic, manliness of utterance, and genuine enthusiasm 
for what he deems the good and true, no critic is more justly entitled to admiration 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSOX, 4 CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

THE LATER ESSAYS OF TIIOMAS CARLYLE, 

(Latter Day Pamphlets.) In one volume, 12mo. Pnce, in 
muslin, 60 cents. 



ESSAYS, CRITICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS, 

By Thomas Babington Macaulay, author of a History of Eng- 
land. In one volume, octavo, with Portrait. Price, in muslin, 
$2. 

"W hoever wishes to gain the most extensive acquaintance with English history 
and English literature in the briefest space of time, will read the Essays of Ma- 
caulay. It is emphatically the hook to direct the student in his researches ; and 
at the same time the brilliancy of the author's style, his learning and vast fund 
of information, and the pertinency of his illustrations, render his writings as 
fascinating to every thiuking mind as the most splendid work of fiction. More 
scholars and critics of the present day owe their first impulse to self-culture to 
Macaulay than to any other writer. 

* Undoubtedly the prince of the English essayists." 



THE WORKS OP REV. SYDNEY SMITH, 

(Consisting principally of articles contributer 1 to the Edinburgn 
.Review.) In one volume, octavo, with Portrait. Price, in 
muslin, $1.25. 

The Edinburgh Review, so long known as the leading Quarterly of Great Brit- 
ain, perhaps owed its existence and its reputation more to Sydney Smith than to 
either of his illustrious compeers — Brougham, Macaulay, and Jeffrey. The good 
sense and simplicity of his style, no less than his vigorous logic and bristling wit, 
have rendered his name known wherever the English language is spoken. The 
interest in his writings will outlive the occasions which called them forth, and 
they may now be placed among the British classics. 



gtffrtf. 

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EDINBURGH REVIEW, 

By Francis Lord Jeffrey. In one volume, octavo, with Portrait* 
Pcice, in muslin, $2. 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

In these articles of Jeffrey, the curious reader may see a history of English lit- 
erature for the last fifty years. Now that Scott, Campbell, Wordsworth, Byron, 
and a few others are immortal beyond cavil or peradventure, with what interest 
do we look for the first impressions which their works made upon the mind of 
their contemporary and reviewer! Aside from his learning, vigor, acuteness, 
and general impartiality, Jeffrey will be read for many years to come for his asso- 
ciation with the eminent names which have made the early part of this cen« 
tury so illustrious. 



WUhan. 

THE RECREATIONS OP CHRISTOPHER NORTH, 

(Contributed to Blackwood's Magazine.) By John Wilson. In 
one volume, octavo, with Portrait of " Christopher in his Shoot- 
ing Jacket." Price, in muslin, $1.25. 

The fame of Wilson, under his chosen pseudonyme, Christopher North, is uni- 
versal. The wonderful vigor, the wit, satire, fun, poetry, and criticism, all 
steeped through in his Tory prejudices, with which his contributions to Black- 
wood overflowed, commanded the attention of all parties, and have left a deep if 
not a permanent impression in the literature of the age. These articles are full 
of the author's peculiar traits. Humor and pathos succeed each other like clouds 
and sunshine in an April day. The character of the Scottish peasantry in some 
of the Recreations, is depicted with as much power as in the author's famous 
" Lights and Shadows of Scottish Life." 



THE MISCELLANEOUS WORKS OF THE RIGHT HON. SIR 
JAIES MACKINTOSH, 

In one volume, octavo, with Portrait. Price, in muslin, $2. 
This edition contains all the miscellanies of the author, reprinted from the Lon- 
don edition of his works. The topics are various, from literature to politics. The 
Revolution of 1688. it is well known, had engaged much of the author's attention, 
and his articles upon that subject are among the most important and valuable ia 
the language. 

MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS, 

By Archibald Alison, F. R. S., author of a History of Europe 
during the French Revolution. In one volume, octavo, with 
Portrait. Price, in muslin, $1.25. 
ILe distinguished author of the History of Europe, in a series of critical art> 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

eles, mostly t\?od modern historical, subjects, has apparently given to the worM 
many of the studies upon which his great work is based. These Essays will be 
read with profit by every student of European history. 



Mfauxti, SitjrlJMi. 



THE CRITICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS OP 
THOMAS NOON TALFOURD. 

Author of " Ion," a Tragedy, &c, with a Portrait, and 

THE CRITICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS ESSAYS OF JAMES 
STEPHEN, 

In one volume, octavo. Price, in muslin, $1.25. 

The author of " Ion " may surely claim a place among the classic writers of 
Britain. The essays here collected, though lacking the force and splendor of 
style that belongs to Macaulay, are among the most elegant and attractive in the 
language. They refer generally to lighter literary topics, instead of the severe 
subjects with which Mackintosh, Alison, or Carlyle choose to grapple. 

Mr. Stephen, also, has long been known as among the ablest of the great mod- 
ern essayists. 

THE MODERN BRITISH ESSAYISTS, 

Comprising the eight volumes octavo preceding. Price, in mus- 
lin, $12 ; in sheep, $16 ; half calf, or half morocco, $18. 



BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL MISCELLANIES. 

By W. H. Prescott. With a finely engraved Portrait. One 
volume, 8vo. Price, in cloth, $2 ; in sheep, $2.50 ; half calf, 
or half antique, $3 ; full calf, or antique, $4. 

" Mr. Prescott is an elegant writer, and there is nothing that comes from his 
pen that does not strongly bear the marks of originality. The present volume 
contains a series of papers on different subjects; biography, belles-lettres, criti- 
cism, &c, in which Mr. Prescott has put forward some beautiful ideas on the 
attributes of mind, the formation of character, and the present condition of vari- 
ous sections of society. It will be read with avidity by the scholar and general 
Inquirer." — New Orleans Bulletin. 



PHILLIPS, SAMPSON, & CO.'S PUBLICATIONS. 

LECTURES ON THE GENIUS OP WASHINGTON ALLSTON. 

By Rev. William Ware. Author of " Zenobia," " Aurelian," 
&c, &c. In one volume, 12mo. Price, 75 cents. 

"The illustrious painter has found a splendid exponent of his genius in Mr. 
Ware. No one can read these Lectures without being impressed with the congen- 
iality and perfect knowledge of the art upon which, in connection with his sub- 
ject, he expatiates. They are clear as crystal, showing in the transparency of 
words the gemmed and brilliant ideas. The pictures of the great artist are de- 
scribed in language whose coloring rivals the brightness of the objects themselves, 
setting them before the mind of the reader with such vividness as to make them 
almost visible to sight. * * * * The whole book is full of feeling, and 
radiant with beauty." — Albany Knickerbocker. 



PEACTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC. 



THE MECHANIC'S TEXT BOOK, 

And Engineer's Practical Guide. Containing a concise Treatise 
on the Nature and Application of Mechanical Forces, the Action 
of Gravity, the Elements of Machinery, the Strength, Pressure, 
and Resistance of Materials, &c, &c. Compiled and arranged 
by Thomas Kelt. To which is added, Valuable Hints to Mechan- 
ics on various Subjects, by John Frost, LL. D. In one volume, 
12mo. Price, $1. 

THE ENGINEER'S POCKET GUIDE, 

By Thomas Kelt. 18mo., muslin. Price, 75 cents; with 
tucks, $1. 

The most valuable information for the mechanic, in a small compass, and in 
clear and intelligible language. 

MANUAL OF MAGNETISM, 

By Daniel Davis, Jr., with 180 original illustrations. In one 
volume, 12mo. Price, $1. 

Extracts from the Preface. 

"The present work is principally occupied with magnetism in its connection 
with electricity. But the general phenomena of both these sciences are described 
as fully as the thorough comprehension of the relations existing between them 
appeared to require. It has been the aim to give the book a practical rather than 
a theoretical character, and to introduce hypotheses no further than was essential 
to a clear explanation of the phenomena described." 

"In the preparation of this (2d) edition, alterations and additions hare been 
made to adapt it better to the purposes of a text book for colleges aud high schools, 
and also as a companion to the apparatus." 



Deacidified using the Bookkeeper proces 
Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
Treatment Date: Dec. 2004 

PreservatlonTechnologie: 

A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATIO 

1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 




"0 013 541 790 7 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

029 557 498 7 



